Financial risks facing state and local governments are increasing in complexity, visibility, and regulatory scrutiny. This online course provides governmental accounting and auditing professionals with a timely overview of emerging risk‑reporting considerations, including the Governmental Accounting Standards Board’s (GASB) ongoing project related to Severe Financial Stress (SFS) and Probable Dissolution (PD) disclosures.
Participants will examine the current status of the GASB project, understand why the Exposure Draft has been delayed, and explore how SFS and PD are evaluated and potentially disclosed. The session also broadens the discussion to other financial, operational, and governance risks commonly disclosed in annual financial reports. Designed as an overview‑level program, this course equips professionals with the context and practical insight needed to evaluate risk disclosures and anticipate future GASB reporting requirements.
Publication Date: July 2026
Designed For
This course is designed for governmental accountants, auditors, finance officers, controllers, and accounting managers who prepare, review, or audit state and local government financial statements.
Topics Covered
- GASB’s Severe Financial Stress (SFS) and Probable Dissolution (PD) project status
- Relationship between SFS and PD
- Indicators and considerations for assessing Severe Financial Stress
- Potential disclosure requirements associated with SFS and PD
- Other risk disclosures in state and local government annual financial reports
Learning Objectives
- Describe the current status and direction of the GASB project addressing Severe Financial Stress (SFS) and Probable Dissolution (PD) disclosures
- Explain the relationship between Severe Financial Stress and Probable Dissolution within the frame work of governmental accounting and financial reporting
- Identify qualitative and quantitative indicators that may be considered when assessing Severe Financial Stress
- Determine the types of disclosures that may be required if Severe Financial Stress or Probable Dissolution conditions are present
- Recognize other financial, operational, and governance risks commonly disclosed by state and local governments in annual financial reports
Level
Overview
Instructional Method
Self-Study
NASBA Field of Study
Accounting (Governmental) (2 hours)
Program Prerequisites
None
Advance Preparation
None
Instructor
Eric S. Berman
Eric S. Berman, MSA, CPA, CGMA, has over 30 years of governmental accounting and auditing experience. Until he retires from the firm on April 30, 2025, he serves as a Government Advisory Services Partner with Eide Bailly LLP. Before Eide Bailly LLP, he was a quality control principal with a public accounting firm in California.
Eric is the author of the Governmental Library for preparers for CCH. The Government Library also offers in-depth, interpretive guidance. In addition to the Governmental GAAP Guide, users can access CCH’s Governmental GAAP Practice and Disclosures Manual and the Governmental GAAP Update Service.
Eric’s public-sector experience includes being a Deputy Comptroller for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 1999 to 2010, and the Chief Financial Officer of the Massachusetts Water Pollution Abatement Trust from 1994 to 1999. Eric is a licensed CPA in Massachusetts. He obtained an M.S. in Accountancy from Bentley University. Eric currently serves on the Association of Government Accountants (AGA)’s Financial Management Standards Board (FMSB). Eric is also a past National Treasurer of AGA, serving from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023. He also recently co-chaired AGA’s leadership development committee and served on the finance and budget committee. Eric previously represented the AGA as the Vice Chairman of the Government Accounting Standards Advisory Council to the GASB. He also chaired the AGA’s Audit Committee and previously, the FMSB. He was also a previous chair of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA’s) Governmental Performance and Accountability Committee and is a former member of the AICPA’s State and Local Government Expert Panel. Eric was a member of the GASB’s task force reexamining the state and local governmental financial reporting model and has served on previous GASB task forces and working groups assisting in developing and implementing standards.
Eric is also a past member of the California Society of CPAs' Governmental Accounting and Auditing Committee and is past chair of the same committee for the Massachusetts Society of CPAs. He was also the founder and treasurer of a not-for-profit performing arts organization in Pennsylvania. Eric is frequently called upon to consult and train state and local governments throughout the country on governmental accounting and auditing. Eric shuttles between Massachusetts and Washington, DC.
Eric is also a past member of the California Society of CPAs’ Governmental Accounting and Auditing Committee and is past chair of the same committee for the Massachusetts Society of CPAs. He was also the founder and treasurer of a not-for-profit performing arts organization in Pennsylvania. Eric is frequently called upon to consult and train state and local governments throughout the country on governmental accounting and auditing.