GASB 34, the new financial reporting model of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, changes the way citizens evaluate their officials' performance and how the financial community assesses government credit. GASB 34 requires local governments to report on government finances as a whole, with a focus on the cost of delivering services. GASB believes the new rules will make financial statements easier to read, more useful and accessible to all users, and more helpful to local government managers. This report looks at GASB 34 from three vantage points: a director of finance in a local government, a rating agency, and a government official in a jurisdiction that has already implemented GASB 34.