This is a case/project I give my governmental accounting students to teach them to be more active local citizens, more politically aware and more critical in their analysis. This piece is a working paper that, beside giving it to my students, I am developing into a full-blown case/student project paper, which will also include my experiences this winter with the students. Anyone with suggestions may contact me at dwight@qtm.net. The case follows as instructions to students:

I. Student Civic Activism Project in Government Accounting

Pick a local government unit, preferably in the district in which you are living. It can be an educational district or a city government or even a road authority. Write a paper on both the political issues and the city finances that support those issues and include photocopies of all relevant articles and documents.

II. Rationale for Activism, “Learning the Ropes” in Implementing Government Accounting

Accounting professionalism means that we give something back to our profession and our community. Fortunately, this both feels good and it brings in new business and job opportunities while developing new skills, which is not a bad deal. While many of us volunteer with non-profits such as our church, community hospital, American Red Cross, etc., the idea of getting involved in local government leaves a lot of people puzzled. Furthermore, while it may be unlikely for us to successfully run for state or national government because of the role of party politics, getting elected in a local election may allow accountants to directly participate in local governance.

In many small school districts, suburbs, towns and townships, accountants stand a good chance of being elected with the respect their profession can engender in a cost-conscious community. These entities usually follow the rules of governmental accounting much more strictly than state and federal governments. Almost by definition, local governments are usually located a few miles from the homes of their citizens and, for our purposes, students in our governmental accounting class. Thus, these local government systems provide us with a near perfect laboratory for our student projects. Therefore, these projects will help us to develop our awareness and knowledge on this semester’s theme of how professional accountants can get involved in local politics including running for election or being appointed to various local governmental or non-profit boards.

Requiring the learning of activism should not come as a surprise. Students (and practitioners) who are 18 and over, already have a duty to participate in local government. Accounting professionals have an added responsibility to add their fiscal expertise, including this governmental accounting course, to ensuring good local government. Student projects, where they learn to “connect” with the political process of local government and use their newfound accounting knowledge, are essential for better government and for strengthening the profession.

People serve on local governing bodies for a multitude of reasons, some which serve the community poorly. The parent that joins a local school board primarily to advance a youngster into the local cheerleading squad and is indifferent to any other issue is perhaps very human but unlikely to improve the performance of related schools. Furthermore, local governments in the US are often driven by commercial needs of local businesses. Thus, builders and developers, who need building and zoning exceptions, stock heavily many city governments. Boards of localities that actively restrict liquor licensing will often have representatives from the local taverns to either expand or restrict new liquor businesses. Vendors of everything from building new schools to providing legal services to municipalities might also be represented.

Your accounting sophistication about complex local budgets, which feature governmental accounting information, makes you much more than ordinarily important. For example, you have a better idea than most about when a local city contract is being let for more money than what other vendors could provide it for. Because accountants are busy people, they may never find the time to do something they would find both enjoyable and worthwhile.

In summary, this class project will focus this semester on both learning the political ways of your local government and understanding its budget. While many, perhaps most, of you will not be working directly for local governments, all of you will pay taxes for these governments and use their services. In addition, your firms will have dealings with local governments including auditing them, and that will require you to both understand the politics and the accounting.

III. In your project paper, address the following questions:

1. Where is your local government located?
2. Who are the mayor, director, board members and operating managers of this locality?
3. Who can you ask questions about local government?
4. When and where do the governing boards meet?
5. How do you get issues that con- cern you on the agenda of these board meetings?
6. Are all board meetings held in pub- lic and what are the criteria for judging if some meetings are not held in public?
7. To whom would you address a let- ter of concern to in your city?
8. How would you contact the various departments and what concerns of local citizens does each depart- ment handle?
9. What are the budgets of each orga- nization and how do they relate to services provided?
10. What and where are the facilities of the district/municipality? Can you visually tour these facilities, and does the operation seem to support the costs involved in the budgets?
11. Do employees' seniority rights af- fect who works where in provid- ing direct city services? Do the more experienced firefighters, police, teachers and other per- sonnel choose to work in the “nicer” neighborhoods leaving the professional novices to deal with neighborhoods with more compli- cated problems? Could higher pay or bonuses in the “bad” neighbor- hoods allow a better matching of skill and responsibility in the dis- trict and municipality?
12. How and where do you find the fi- nancial budgets from your district or town?
13. How and where do you find bud- gets of districts or municipalities similar to the one you have cho- sen to study in terms of services, size, state and other attributes?
14. Is there a sunshine meetings law in your state?
15. Is there freedom of information law in your state? What forms would you have to fill out, and how much does it cost? Include a copy of the form, if available.
16. Where do you find current and past news stories of governmental ac- tivities and issues in your town? What major projects have been adopted or rejected recently? Has a recent tax increase succeeded or failed?
17. Has the city been sued recently and can you get a copy of the proceedings? Include copies of major issues proceedings.
18. How and where can you find the minutes of the governing board? How and where can you find the governing officials and board members?
19. How and where could you report complaints to the city or district? If you do not get satisfaction, where could you go to get it?
20. What zoning activity is going on in your city?
21. What blue laws and other cultural, religious and social imperatives are in effect in your city or district?
22. Where can you go to find local build- ing and other ordinances?
23. Where can you find building plans and real estate records? Do these seem complete and support the current budget? Does the city have ecological plans for its vari- ous projects and are these open to inspection? Can you get these from state or national govern- ments? Include photocopies of available documents.
24. What are the various local news- papers and alternative newspapers that cover your city? Who are the beat reporters and could you interview them? Include interviews.
25. When the governance boards meet, do they understand the nuances of government accounting and, if not, who explains it to them?

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