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.

This Study provides a public sector perspective on the definition and recognition of liabilities. It identifies, considers and explores views held on:

This Study identifies and describes the variety of views which exist about whether, when and how specific assets should be measured and reported in the public sector. It considers and explores:

This Study addresses using the work of other auditors, including both other external and internal auditors, in financial attest and compliance audits. It considers the matters an auditor has to take into consideration when using the work of another auditor and provides a public sector perspective to International Standard on Auditing (ISA) 600 "Using the Work of Another Auditor" and ISA 610 "Considering the Work of Internal Auditing."

This Study addresses aspects of the audit for compliance in the public sector which, in many countries, is subject to very different mandates and objectives than in the private sector. In a democratic system of government, accountability to the public and particularly, to its designated representatives, is an overriding aspect of the management of a public sector entity.

This Study considers the elements (types or classes of financial information) to be reported in financial statements prepared under the different bases of accounting that may be employed by national governments and their major units and the way in which those elements may be defined. It also considers the implications of reporting particular elements, or subsets thereof, for the messages communicated by financial statements and the achievement of the objectives identified in Study 1.

The scope of the study is to consider:

This occasional paper aims to inform readers about a range of perspectives on accrual accounting from a number of contributors who have experience in implementing this accounting reform or who have observed its progress.