Accounting Q&A · Government Accounting · Topic 12
Practise 25 government accounting questions on climate reporting, digital controls and fiscal transparency using five worked public-sector cases. Try each answer before revealing it. The cases are illustrative. Check the applicable reporting framework and local budget rules.
A coastal city expects higher flood losses
1. What should the accountant establish?
Assess the effects on assets, service plans and fiscal forecasts.
2. What evidence should be obtained?
Collect hazard data, engineering assessments and adaptation plans.
3. What calculation or procedure would help?
Test useful lives, impairment indicators and scenario assumptions as applicable.
4. What limitation or alternative matters?
Projected costs do not automatically meet liability recognition criteria.
5. What should happen next?
Document financial and disclosure implications.
A digital procurement dashboard claims faster approvals
6. What should the accountant establish?
Verify data completeness and performance definitions.
7. What evidence should be obtained?
Collect workflow logs and document date fields.
8. What calculation or procedure would help?
Compare median approval times using a consistent population.
9. What limitation or alternative matters?
Missing cancelled transactions can distort the comparison.
10. What should happen next?
Validate the data and disclose the measure’s scope.
A new electronic invoicing system matches purchases automatically
11. What should the accountant establish?
Check the reliability of data and automated controls.
12. What evidence should be obtained?
Obtain matching rules, access logs and exception reports.
13. What calculation or procedure would help?
Test approved and rejected items and manual overrides.
14. What limitation or alternative matters?
Automation can reproduce errors across the whole population.
15. What should happen next?
Assign review of exceptions and periodically retest controls.
A government publishes open spending data
16. What should the accountant establish?
Balance transparency with lawful protection of sensitive information.
17. What evidence should be obtained?
Review publication mandates and source classifications.
18. What calculation or procedure would help?
Reconcile public totals to approved records and check redactions.
19. What limitation or alternative matters?
A public dataset may exclude protected items or use different classifications.
20. What should happen next?
Publish definitions and explain material differences.
An AI forecast predicts lower welfare spending
21. What should the accountant establish?
Assess whether the forecast supports budget decisions.
22. What evidence should be obtained?
Collect input data, model version and validation evidence.
23. What calculation or procedure would help?
Compare results with actuals and stress test assumptions.
24. What limitation or alternative matters?
Model outputs may reflect biased or incomplete data.
25. What should happen next?
Keep human review and document uncertainty.