As national bodies become more aware of their SMP constituents and their needs, at least some of those bodies have been taking actions and developing programs to help SMPs play a more effective role in the domestic marketplace. But, to deal with the presence and needs of SMPs on an international scale, it is first necessary to determine just where they fit into the global picture.

This occasional paper describes the specific framework designed in France to manage the relationship between a government entity and a private sector entity contracted to deliver a certain service, and to ensure an adequate level of information and accountability.

This Study focuses on governance arrangements in the public sector; specifically on the responsibilities of a governing body of a public sector controlled entity. The IPSASB (formerly the Public Sector Committee) believes that the publication of this Study will contribute to good governance and accountability in the public sector throughout the world.

This new study assists government financial aid officers and other government accountants in their efforts to develop and implement cost accounting.

The Study aims to assist governments at all levels in the identification of issues associated with financial reporting. Although some parts of the Study may relate to national governments only, other parts are applicable to all levels of government.

This Study examines the concepts, principles and issues related to the treatment of expenses/expenditures in general purpose financial statements of governments and other non-business public sector entities.

Governments are under growing pressures not only to manage their funds effectively, but also to show their management has been effective. To achieve this, governments need complete information about their expenses/expenditures in order to assess their revenue requirements, the sustainability of their programs and their flexibility.

This Study examines concepts, principles and issues related to the definitions and recognition of revenues in the general purpose financial statements of national governments and other non-business public sector entities. Specifically, this Study identifies and discusses the definition and classification of revenues, issues with certain types of revenue and the effect of different bases of accounting on the definition and recognition of revenues.

This Study considers the implications of different approaches to the definition of the government financial reporting entity and different techniques for the construction of government financial reports to the achievement of objectives of financial reports.

This Study is a companion to Study 1, Financial Reporting by National Governments, issued in March 1991, and Study 2, Elements of the Financial Statement of National Governments, issued in July 1993.

This Study identifies principal users of performance information, considers the needs of those users, and outlines forms of reporting that could be available to meet those needs. The Study is thereby concerned primarily with the provision of information about an enterprise's performance (covering both financial and non-financial aspects of performance) supplementary to the information provided in financial statements, in the context of general purpose financial statements.