Government financial reporting
Government financial reporting encompasses the teams dealing with all aspects of financial reporting in central government:
- setting accounting standards in the Government Financial Reporting Manual, which replaces the Resource Accounting Manual, NDPBs annual reports and accounts guidance and trading funds accounts guidance with effect from 2005-06;
- working with others in the Treasury and in departments to ensure the highest standards of financial reporting for the central government sector;
- monitoring the laying and publication of departmental resource accounts as part of the faster closing initiative, under which departments have committed to laying accounts before the House of Commons rises for the summer recess;
- preparing Whole of Government Accounts, from 2006-07 – a consolidation of the whole of the UK public sector, based on UK generally accepted accounting practice;
- running the Combined Online Information System (COINS), a newly developed web based multi-dimensional database used by HM Treasury to collect financial information relating to Government Accounts and Resource Budgeting. Taking over from the old PES database, GOLD and GEMS returns, it provides the information needed to manage budgets and to support Estimates and to produce the Public Expenditure Statistical Analysis.
In this section:
- Standing guidance for departments on completion, printing, laying and publication of Resource Accounts
- NDPBs annual reports and accounts guidance
- Trading funds accounts guidance
- PDF file of Accounts directions (guidance including model accounts directions for NDPBs)
- PDF file of Establishment and Operation of Trading Funds

