Final answer:
When a governmental entity receives equipment, the Expenditures account in the general fund is debited. Plant assets are not recorded in the general fund, and Accounts Payable is credited if there is an obligation to pay a supplier. Encumbrances and Fund Balance-Reserve for Encumbrances accounts are for anticipated expenses, not actual ones.
Step-by-step explanation:
When equipment is received by a governmental entity through purchase in the general fund, the account that is typically debited is Expenditures. This accounts for the spending of the fund's financial resources. Unlike in business accounting, where the purchase of an asset like equipment would be capitalized and recorded as a Plant Asset, governmental fund accounting uses a different approach that focuses on current financial resources. Therefore, instead of creating an asset account, the purchase is often recorded as an expenditure in the period when it occurs. In essence, the equipment does not appear as a capital asset in the governmental fund's accounts but would appear in the government-wide financial statements that use the accrual basis of accounting similar to businesses.
The Accounts Payable account is credited if there is a corresponding liability at the time the equipment is received and the invoice is recorded, reflecting the obligation to pay the supplier. The accounts Encumbrances and Fund Balance-Reserve for Encumbrances are used for recording anticipated expenses, not for actual transactions, and hence are not debited when equipment is received.