Government financial statements are annual financial statements

Financial statements

A financial statement is a formal record of the financial activities of a business, person, or other entity. In British English—including United Kingdom company law—a financial statement is often referred to as an account, although the term financial statement is also used, particularly by...

 or reports for the year. The financial statements, in contrast to budget, present the revenue collected and amounts spent. The government financial statements usually include a statement of activities (similar to an income statement in the private sector), a balance sheet and often some type of reconciliation. Cash flow statement

Cash flow statement

In financial accounting, a cash flow statement, also known as statement of cash flows or funds flow statement, is a financial statement that shows how changes in balance sheet accounts and income affect cash and cash equivalents, and breaks the analysis down to operating, investing, and financing...

s are often included to show the sources of the revenue and the destination of the expenses.

United States

In the United States, financial reporting in the federal government (national) must be in accordance with the Chief Financial Officer Act. The elements of financial reports are regulated by Office of Federal Financial Management

Office of Federal Financial Management

The Office of Federal Financial Management is a sub-division the United States Office of Management and Budget.OFFM responsibilities include implementing the financial management improvement priorities of the President, establishing government-wide financial management policies of executive...

. At the state and local level of the United States, the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) make the accounting and financial rules. A major change came in June 1999 when GASB introduced accrual and consolidated rules with fund accounting taking a secondary role.