Public Sector Accounting and Budgeting

Public Sector Accounting and Budgeting

Creation and development of standardized charts of accounts in public sector accounting

Document Type : Review Article

Author
Saeed Rezaee
M.A. in Governmental Financial Management, Tehran Central Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
In the public sector, the chart of Accounts (CoA) is important for controlling accounting records. They are the basis for preparing correct and reliable financial statements and consolidated reporting. Standardized CoA at the national level are desirable, but it is necessary to consider the specificities of different public sector areas as well as harmonization with budget classifications and Government Financial Statistics (GFS). Having extensive international guidelines for each country in order to create and develop its own CoA and at the same time, strengthening the harmonization of public sector financial reporting, better comparison of financial effects in difficult periods such as the period of the pandemic of covid 19 makes it possible. This article deals with creating a standardized charts of accounts (CoAs) in public sector accounting and reporting. This article specifically focuses on the issues related to the role that CoAs have or should have at the national level. It also focuses on their main technical points as well as the expected effect of using them as an accounting tool on the accuracy of accounting records and finally on the reliability and applicability of the financial information obtained from them for different purposes. Also, the evidences obtained from a survey about the preparers and compilers of accounting standards at the national and international level in countries such as Belgium, Brazil, Estonia and Portugal are presented. 
Keywords
Public sector accounting
Budget
Chart of public sector accounts
Government financial statistics

Subjects

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  • Receive Date 23 May 2022
  • Revise Date 18 June 2022
  • Accept Date 05 July 2022