Appendix A: Financial Reporting Standards and Budget Concepts

The Charter of Budget Honesty Act 1998 requires that the final budget outcome be based on external reporting standards. Accordingly, the major external standards used in the final budget outcome are the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) accrual Government Finance Statistics (GFS) framework and Australian Accounting Standards (AAS), including AAS No. 31 Financial Reporting by Governments (AAS 31). The major fiscal aggregates (including the fiscal and underlying cash balances) are based on the accrual GFS framework.

The Charter also requires that departures from applicable external reporting standards be identified. These are disclosed in Attachment A to Part 1 and Note 1 in Part 3.

The next section provides a brief overview of the GFS and AAS reporting frameworks. Further information can be found in Budget Paper No. 1 Budget Strategy and Outlook 2005-06, Statement 8: Financial Reporting Standards and Budget Concepts.

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