Overview

This Section establishes standards on how to account for and report restricted assets and revenues in government financial statements.

Assets and revenues subject to restrictions are not available to meet the government's general obligations and finance its other activities. Accordingly, financial statement users need information about internal and external restrictions on the government's resources to assess the government's financial position and results. External restrictions are stipulations imposed by an agreement with an external party, or through legislation of another government, that specify the purpose or purposes for which resources are to be used. Internally restricted entities are separate legal entities, within the government reporting entity, created by the government's own legislation.

Externally restricted inflows should be recognized as revenue in a government's financial statements in the period in which the resources are used for the purpose or purposes specified. An externally restricted inflow received before this criterion has been met should be reported as a liability until the resources are used for the purpose or purposes specified.

When an organization included in the reporting entity is internally restricted, legislation establishes that the revenues and assets or net assets of that entity can be used only to finance the entity's operations.  It is important that a user of the financial statements is aware of the nature of these restrictions and, as such, disclosures must be provided that convey the extent to which government resources are restricted for use in internally restricted entities.

History of Section PS 3100

Note: The above summary does not include details of consequential amendments made as the result of other projects.

Public Sector Accounting Discussion Group meetings

• March 3, 2016 - Sections PS 1000, PS 3100, PS 3200 and PS 3210: Endowments – Selected Issues