Reporting Requirements for Annual Financial Reports of State Agencies and Universities
General Accounting
Fund Balance/Net Position
Beginning Fund Balance/Net Position
Current year beginning fund balances presented on the operating statements must equal the prior year’s ACFR audited ending fund balances. Agencies must verify this equality during one of the first reviews of the agency’s financial report. The audited ending fund balances for each agency may be obtained from DAFR reports or through the FMQuery–SIRS reporting application.
If the beginning balance in USAS does not equal the ending balance reported by the agency on its prior year’s AFR, the agency must make a “paper only” adjustment on its AFR. The beginning balance reported by the agency must always match the USAS beginning balance. The AFR adjustment does not require a USAS entry to the restatement GL account. Rather, the ending balance as reported by the agency in the prior year AFR is displayed in the Beginning Balance line item, and then the difference is reported in the Restatement line item so the Beginning Balance as Restated equals the USAS beginning balance.
If an agency discovers errors in its prior year financial statements, independent of Comptroller’s office or auditor action, the agency must state the amounts from DAFR reports or FMQuery–SIRS as beginning fund balances. The restatement GL account is then used to adjust the beginning balance to show the effect of errors.
For more information, see: