Government Accounting Software

Organizations in the public sector support many of the same accounting activities as commercial companies: cash management, analytical report tracking, creating budgets, as well as identifying and tracking operational costs. Microsoft Dynamics GP supports fund accounting practices and meets GASB compliance standards. 

While government organizations aren't typically engaged in the standard commercial enterprise of generating profits, there is still a need to make financial management as efficient and accurate as possible. The pressure to lower operating expenses and maintain error-free books is just as real for public sector organizations as for any business.

Watch a public sector demo of Microsoft Dynamics GP!

Fund Accounting

In order to track the allocation of funds for specific purposes, government entities use fund accounting practices. Funds are essentially accounting entities with self-balancing accounts designed to record cash and other assets, as well as related balances and liabilities. A fund accounting approach allows government entities to track all expenditures back to specific fund sources.

GASB Compliance

Government and public administration organizations also need software that is compliant with GASB (Government Accounting Standards Board) regulations. While the Government Accounting Standards Board is not actually a government run program--it's a non-profit standards board--many states require compliance with GASB. It is in general considered to be the gold standard for defining government accounting practices. One of the standards that GASB sets is actually a requirement for a fund accounting approach to managing financial data.

Comprehensive Modules for Various Organizational Types

One of the challenges of meeting government accounting requirements is that there are so many different types of public sector organizations. Local, county, state, and federal levels represent just one aspect of the variety. The challenge of meeting such disparate needs is compounded by the fact that there a major benefits to using a comprehensive system for organizations with a number of different departments. Integrated information allows public sector entities the ability to lower the total cost of ownership by creating efficiencies associated with keeping all relevant information within one centralized database. Hardware requirements are significantly reduced when records are not duplicated across multiple systems. There is a major time savings impact, as well, when staff can access information easily from within one single system.

Financial Management Capabilities

Typical financial management functions included in government and public administration systems include general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and budgeting. Additional modules frequently include applications such as billing programs, job costing, project management, licensing, inventory control, and purchasing.

Read more about Microsoft Dynamics GP and Microsoft Dynamics CRM.