Accessibility of the Management's Discussion and Analysis to Citizen Users of Government Financial Reports

摘要

This study focuses on the accessibility of Management's Discussion and Analysis (MD&A), a key part of the GASB 34 financial reporting framework. We analyze MD&As extracted from Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports issued by the 50 state governments to answer the question: How accessible is the MD&A to citizen users of government financial reports? Using three dimensions of accessibility—size, readability, and timeliness—our results point to the inadequacy of MD&As in providing information to citizens about government's finances and financial condition. Our results make the case that existing financial reporting is neither transparent nor user-friendly for citizens.