Public Sector

Legislatures, councils and governments are accountable to the public, who provide the revenues and resources necessary for government operations, who receive government services and who are the beneficial owners of the public money and property for which legislatures, councils and governments are responsible. The public is comprised of groups with a variety of interests and views.

As elected representatives of the public, legislators and councillors are primary users of government financial statements. They grant authority to the government to administer public resources and financial affairs, and hold the government accountable for its financial administration.

Users are interested in the state of a government's finances, its financial viability both in the short and long term, its revenues and financing sources, the allocation and use of its economic resources, the nature and extent of its economic activities and the quality of its financial management. In particular, government financial statements need to report the information required by users to help them make assessments and judgments concerning government financial operations and management.