Infrastructure assets are defined as long-lived capital assets that normally are stationary in nature and normally can be preserved for a significantly greater number of years than most capital assets. (i.e. roads, bridges, tunnels, dams, lighting systems, and water and sewer facilities.) Buildings, except those that are an ancillary part of a network of infrastructure assets, should not be considered.

Information disclosed in financial statements will help governments and its citizens:

 •Assess government-wide financial positions to determine if they have improved or deteriorated as a result of the year's operations.
 •Evaluate current-year revenues and see actual costs. This evaluation will determine if revenues were sufficient to pay for current-year services and will help users focus on the cost of providing government services and see how those services are financed.
 •Make more in-depth comparisons between governments and evaluate efficiency and effectiveness
 •See how the government finances its programs and invests in capital assets to ensure quality infrastructure far into the future.
 •Be proactive in their preventative maintenance to optimize the useful life of an asset, reducing the need for large expenditures if a reactive approach were used.
 •Make better-informed choices about the expenditures of public funds and appropriate levels of taxation.

The new GASB 34 requirements will affect general funds, bond ratings and special revenue funds and officials will be held accountable for what was budgeted at the beginning of the year. One of the most interesting changes has to do with the budget-to-actual comparisons. Budgeting includes both original and final budgeted amounts, actual amounts, and variance. Now users can see how the initial budgeted amounts were changed. Although federal and state funding will continue to be available for infrastructure, funding agencies will require better management practices that results in more accurate data as a qualification to receive these funds. Budgeted amounts are the most significant values in a governmental unit.

In addition, the public wants to know how much governments spend on infrastructure and how much they borrow to finance it. The public also wants to know if governments are caring for the infrastructure that has been built with public resources and if they are providing the needed services to their community in an efficient and cost-effective manner.