Part 2: Australian Government Financial Statements
The final budget outcome financial statements consist of an operating statement, including other economic flows, a balance sheet, and a cash flow statement for the Australian Government general government sector (GGS), the public non‑financial corporations sector (PNFC), the total non‑financial public sector (NFPS) and the public financial corporations sector (PFC). This statement also contains notes showing disaggregated information for the GGS.
The Charter of Budget Honesty Act 1998 (the Charter) requires the final budget outcome be based on external reporting standards and for departures from these standards to be disclosed. Final budget outcomes in previous years contained three sets of financial statements prepared according to both Australian Bureau of Statistics' (ABS) accrual Government Finance Statistics (GFS) and Australian Accounting Standards (AAS). In October 2007, the Australian Accounting Standards Board released Whole of Government and General Government Sector Financial Reporting (AASB 1049), which provides for the harmonisation of ABS GFS and AAS in a single set of financial statements.
The Government has produced a single set of financial statements that comply with both ABS GFS and AAS, meeting the requirement of the Charter, with departures disclosed. The financial statements for the Final Budget Outcome 2007‑08 have been prepared on a basis consistent with the 2008‑09 Budget. This enables comparison of the 2007‑08 revised estimates published at the 2008‑09 Budget and the outcome. The statements reflect the Government's new accounting policy that ABS GFS remains the basis of budget accounting policy, except where the Government applies AAS because it provides a better conceptual basis for presenting information of relevance to users of public sector financial reports. The 2007‑08 Budget has not been restated on this basis.
The Australian, State and Territory governments have an agreed framework — the Accrual Uniform Presentation Framework (UPF) — for the presentation of government financial information on a basis broadly consistent with AASB 1049. The final budget outcome financial statements are consistent with the requirements of the UPF.
In accordance with the UPF requirements, this statement also contains an update of the Australian Government's Loan Council Allocation.