Douglas County commissioners review pros and cons of switching to GAAP accounting

Douglas County held a work session April 2, 2025, to review the differences between generally accepted accounting principles under the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GAAP/GASB) and cash- or regulatory-based accounting. Brooke Sauer, the county’s finance manager, led staff remarks and introduced consultants Brian Stavenger and Jerry Bowes of Eide Bailly, who summarized the technical differences and trade-offs.

Consultants framed the choice as a spectrum. “If any of you still use a checkbook, the way that cash basis works is literally whatever goes in or out of that checkbook, or in or out of a bank account is what's recorded and reported on your financial statements,” said Brian Stavenger, partner at Eide Bailly. Jerry Bowes, director in Eide Bailly’s government advisory services, said GAAP emphasizes “accountability and interperiod equity,” meaning governments report how current choices affect future taxpayers.

The presentation described key differences: cash/regulatory methods record short-term inflows and outflows; full GASB-compliant financial statements use modified accrual for governmental funds but present a government-wide, full-accrual view that includes long-term…