IPSAS 22
Active
Disclosure of Financial Information about the General Government Sector
Prescribes disclosure of financial information about the general government sector (GGS), including statistical-sector classification (GGS, PFC, PNFC), reconciliations between statistical and IPSAS bases, and an illustrative GGS statement of financial position. Effective 1 January 2008.
Active Standard
IPSAS 22 Disclosure of Financial Information about the General Government Sector is the current, active standard issued by the IPSASB for presenting general government sector financial information, including statistical-sector classification, reconciliations, and an illustrative GGS statement of financial position. Effective 1 January 2008.
IPSAS 22 is a public-sector-specific Standard with no private-sector equivalent; it complements IPSAS 18 Segment Reporting by separating statistical-sector (GGS/PFC/PNFC) presentation of budgetary and financial information from entity-level segment disclosure.
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Objective, Scope & Definitions (paras. 1–4, 15)
Objective & scope
Prescribes disclosure requirements for governments that ELECT to present information about the General Government Sector (GGS) in their consolidated financial statements – enhancing transparency and the link between market/non-market activities and between IPSAS statements and statistical reporting bases.
Applies to a government preparing consolidated accrual-basis financial statements that ELECTS to disclose GGS information
This Standard is entirely OPTIONAL – disclosure is ALLOWED, never required. Only GOVERNMENTS (not individual controlled entities) can meaningfully present a GGS disaggregation (para. 14).
The core definition (para. 15)
General Government Sector (GGS)
All organizational entities of the general government, as defined in STATISTICAL bases of financial reporting – derived from the System of National Accounts (2008 SNA).
Financial statements consolidate only CONTROLLED entities; statistical bases don't share that limitation. This Standard PROHIBITS presenting, as part of the GGS, any entity not consolidated in the government's own financial statements (para. 6) – it disaggregates what's already there, rather than adding new entities.
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The Three Statistical Sectors – GGS, PFC & PNFC (paras. 17–22)
General Government Sector (GGS)
All resident central, state, and local government units, social security funds at each level, and NONMARKET nonprofit institutions controlled by government – funded primarily via appropriation/allocation of taxes, dividends, other revenue, and borrowings. Typically includes departments, courts, public education, public health care. Does NOT include PFCs or PNFCs.
Public Financial & Non-Financial Corporations sectors
PFC sector – government-controlled financial corporations/quasi-corporations/nonprofits primarily engaged in FINANCIAL intermediation and services for the market (e.g. government-controlled banks, including central banks) PNFC sector – government-controlled entities producing GOODS or NONFINANCIAL services for the market (e.g. publicly owned utilities)
Commercial public sector entities are conceptually similar to public corporations/quasi-corporations, but the mapping isn't always exact – e.g. a NON-RESIDENT commercial public sector entity wouldn't classify as a PFC or PNFC (para. 22).
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Relationship to Segment Reporting (paras. 7–8)
GGS disclosure does NOT replace IPSAS 18 segments
IPSAS 18 segments are based on service delivery activities and resource allocation – NOT on the market/nonmarket distinction used for GGS. GGS information alone won't let users evaluate performance against major service delivery objectives when those are achieved through NON-GGS entities.
Example: identifying the GGS as a "segment" tells users nothing about a government's performance in telecommunications, healthcare, or education objectives delivered through government corporations or quasi-corporations. A government must still present IPSAS 18 segment information alongside any GGS disclosure – omitting it would leave out important information (para. 8).
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Statistical Bases of Financial Reporting vs IPSAS Statements (paras. 9–11)
Different objectives, some shared DNA
FrameworkPrimary objective
IPSAS financial statementsDecision-usefulness AND accountability for controlled resources
Statistical bases (2008 SNA-derived)Analyzing and evaluating FISCAL POLICY, especially GGS and broader public sector performance
Both adopt an accrual basis, deal with similar transactions, and share some report structure – but the underlying accounting system may differ in important ways from the statistics ultimately derived from it (para. 9).
Why bother disclosing GGS in financial statements?
Assists users to understand resources allocated to GGS service delivery, and financial performance in delivering those services Assists users to understand the relationship between the GGS and the corporations sectors, and each one's impact on overall financial performance Forms a useful LINK between IPSAS financial statements and statistical reports, helping users reconcile the two (para. 11)
Where government budgets are prepared for the GGS rather than the whole government, GGS disclosures under this Standard become directly relevant to IPSAS 24's budget-vs-actual comparison requirement.
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Accounting Policies for GGS Disclosures (paras. 23–32)
Same policies as the consolidated statements – with ONE exception
GGS disclosures use the SAME recognition, measurement & presentation policies as the consolidated financial statements
The one exception: the GGS does NOT apply IPSAS 35 consolidation to entities in the PFC/PNFC sectors – instead, it recognizes its investment in those sectors AT THE CARRYING AMOUNT OF THEIR NET ASSETS (paras. 24–25). Balances/transactions WITHIN the GGS ARE eliminated (per IPSAS 35); balances/transactions BETWEEN the GGS and other sectors are NOT eliminated (para. 30).
Why not full consolidation with PFC/PNFC?
Statistical bases of reporting portray the GGS's impact on the whole public sector (and, per the 2008 SNA, the national economy) – presenting entities OUTSIDE the GGS as investments in other sectors, with transactions NOT eliminated. Applying full IPSAS 35 consolidation instead would simply re-present the government's ordinary consolidated statements, not a genuine GGS disaggregation (paras. 28–29).
Measurement can also genuinely diverge: statistical bases generally revalue all assets/liabilities (except loans) to market value each period; IPSAS permits historical cost AND current value models depending on asset class – so GGS figures in the financial statements may differ from the equivalent statistical-basis GGS figures (para. 32).
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Further Disaggregation (paras. 33–34)
Optional deeper cuts across levels of government
Where a national government's consolidated statements encompass MULTIPLE levels of government (e.g. it controls provincial/local governments), a government MAY (but is NOT required to) further disaggregate GGS information to show the GGS separately AT EACH LEVEL of government – helping users understand the relationship between each level's GGS activities and between the financial statements and statistical bases in that jurisdiction.
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Required Disclosures (paras. 35, 40)
Minimum content (para. 35)
Assets by major class – showing the investment in OTHER sectors separately Liabilities by major class Net assets/equity Total revaluation increments/decrements and other items recognized directly in net assets/equity Revenue by major class Expenses by major class Surplus or deficit Cash flows from operating, investing, and financing activities (each by major class where specified)
Prominence cap: the manner of GGS presentation shall be NO MORE PROMINENT than the government's own IPSAS financial statements – via note disclosure, additional columns, or another appropriate jurisdiction-specific method (paras. 35, 37).
Controlled entities included in the GGS (para. 40)
Disclose the SIGNIFICANT controlled entities included in the GGS Disclose any CHANGES in those entities from the prior period, with an explanation of why a previously-included entity is no longer included
IPSAS 35 separately requires disclosure of significant controlled entities in the CONSOLIDATED statements as a whole – this cross-reference lets users see which of THOSE entities also sit within the GGS, and track that relationship over time (paras. 41–42). COFOG (Classification of Functions of Government) disaggregation is neither required nor prohibited (para. 38).
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Reconciliations (paras. 43–46)
To the consolidated financial statements – mandatory
GGS disclosures SHALL be reconciled to the consolidated financial statements, showing the adjustment to EACH equivalent item separately
Presented separately: the adjustment for the PFC/PNFC investment carrying-amount (§5), plus adjustments for each item disclosed under para. 35. Entities MAY (not required to) further split the PFC adjustment from the PNFC adjustment (para. 44).
To statistical bases of financial reporting – NOT required
Statistical bases and IPSAS have real differences beyond measurement – e.g. statistical bases treat DIVIDENDS as expenses, while IPSAS treats them as distributions; statistical bases distinguish transactions from "other economic flows" in ways the consolidated statements don't currently reflect.
This Standard does NOT require a reconciliation of GGS financial-statement disclosures to GGS statistical-basis disclosures – practicability, cost, and benefit concerns vary too much across jurisdictions. Including one by way of NOTE DISCLOSURE is not precluded, though (para. 46).
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Statement Template – Illustrative GGS Statement of Financial Position
Four-column format – GGS, PFC & PNFC, Eliminations, Total Whole-of-Government
Line itemGGSPFC & PNFCEliminationsTotal W-of-G
ASSETS – Current
Cash and cash equivalents, receivables, prepaymentsXX(X)X
Inventories, investments, other current assetsXXX
Non-current
Investment in OTHER SECTORSX(X)–
Infrastructure, plant & equipment; land & buildings; intangiblesXXX
TOTAL ASSETSXX(X)X
LIABILITIES – Current
Payables, short-term borrowings, provisions, employee benefitsXX(X)X
Non-current – payables, borrowings, provisions, employee benefitsXX(X)X
TOTAL LIABILITIESXX(X)X
NET ASSETSXX(X)X
Reserves; accumulated surpluses/(deficits)XX(X)X
TOTAL NET ASSETS/EQUITYXX(X)X
The Handbook's full Implementation Guidance carries this same four-column structure through a Statement of Financial Performance (by Classification of Function of Government), a Statement of Changes in Net Assets/Equity, and a Cash Flow Statement – each showing GGS, PFC and PNFC, eliminations, and total whole-of-government columns, with comparatives for two years.
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Effective Date & Amendment Timeline (paras. 47–48)
Amendment history at a glance
Base Standard: periods beginning on/after 1 January 2008.
EffectiveChange
1 Jan 2017Para. 48 (IPSAS 33); para. 13 (Improvements to IPSAS 2015)
–Paras. 24, 26, 27, 29, 30, 41 amended – IPSAS 35, Consolidated Financial Statements, applied alongside
1 Jan 2018Para. 16 deleted; paras. 3, 22 amended – The Applicability of IPSAS (Apr 2016)
1 Jan 2019Para. 37 – Improvements to IPSAS, 2018
1 Jan 2023Paras. 5, 18, 28 – Improvements to IPSAS, 2021
1 Jan 2025Para. 32 – IPSAS 46, Measurement
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Relationship to Statistical Reporting Standards
No IAS/IFRS equivalent – a genuinely public-sector-only Standard
Unlike most IPSAS, IPSAS 22 is NOT drawn from any IFRS Standard – there is no private-sector "GGS" concept to converge with. Instead, it bridges IPSAS financial reporting with STATISTICAL bases of financial reporting, principally the UN's System of National Accounts (2008 SNA), and related frameworks such as the IMF's Government Finance Statistics Manual (GFSM).
The GGS/PFC/PNFC sector definitions in this Standard are IMPORTED directly from statistical reporting terminology, not developed independently by the IPSASB Measurement can genuinely diverge – statistical bases typically mark most assets/liabilities to market value each period; IPSAS permits historical cost for many classes Statistical bases classify dividends as EXPENSES; IPSAS classifies them as DISTRIBUTIONS – a structural difference no reconciliation requirement bridges
Where a jurisdiction ALSO produces GFS-basis fiscal reports, GGS disclosures under this Standard are the natural "bridge" a preparer builds toward reconciling the two frameworks – even though this Standard itself doesn't mandate that reconciliation.
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Statement / Process Mapping
GGS disclosure decision map
- Does the government ELECT to disclose GGS information? If no → this Standard simply doesn't apply (§1)
- Classify each consolidated entity: GGS (nonmarket, appropriation-funded) or PFC/PNFC (market-facing, commercial)? (§2)
- Apply the SAME accounting policies as the consolidated statements – EXCEPT recognize the PFC/PNFC investment at the carrying amount of their net assets, not full consolidation (§5)
- Eliminate WITHIN-GGS balances/transactions; do NOT eliminate GGS-to-other-sector balances/transactions (§5)
- Present the minimum disclosure set (§7), reconciled item-by-item to the consolidated financial statements (§8)
- Still present IPSAS 18 segment information separately – GGS disclosure never substitutes for it (§3)
Concept-to-statement mapping table
IPSAS 22 conceptStatement(s)Notes
GGS assets, liabilities, net assets/equitySOFPAdditional columns, or a separate GGS statement
GGS revenue, expenses, surplus/deficitSOFPerfSame structure as the primary statement
GGS revaluation increments/decrementsNA/EStatement of Changes in Net Assets/Equity equivalent
GGS cash flowsCash FlowOperating, investing, financing – mirroring IPSAS 2
Reconciliation to consolidated totalsNotesMandatory, item-by-item
Significant controlled entities in the GGSNotesList, plus changes from the prior period
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Related Standards – Cross-Reference Map
How IPSAS 22 connects across the IPSAS body of literature
StandardNature of the connection
IPSAS 1Defines the complete set of financial statements that GGS disclosures parallel (§7)
IPSAS 2Cash flow classification structure mirrored in GGS cash flow disclosures (§7, §9)
IPSAS 3Underlying qualitative-characteristics basis for GGS accounting policy development (§4)
IPSAS 18Segment reporting remains mandatory alongside any GGS disclosure – not a substitute (§3)
IPSAS 24Where a budget is prepared for the GGS specifically, GGS disclosures under this Standard support that comparison (§4)
IPSAS 35Consolidation basis for WITHIN-GGS eliminations; the one exception being PFC/PNFC investment treatment (§5)
IPSAS 46Measurement basis interactions affecting how GGS asset/liability figures may diverge from statistical-basis figures (§5)
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Quick-Reference Glossary
General Government Sector (GGS)
All organizational entities of general government, as defined under statistical bases of financial reporting.
Public Financial Corporations (PFC) sector
Government-controlled entities primarily engaged in financial intermediation/services for the market.
Public Non-Financial Corporations (PNFC) sector
Government-controlled entities producing goods or nonfinancial services for the market.
2008 SNA
System of National Accounts, 2008 – the UN-prepared statistical framework underpinning GGS/PFC/PNFC sector definitions.
Statistical bases of financial reporting
Reporting frameworks focused on fiscal policy analysis, consistent with and derived from the 2008 SNA.
COFOG
Classification of Functions of Government – an expense-disaggregation basis used in some statistical reporting.
Financial statement key
SOFP Statement of financial position
SOFPerf Statement of financial performance
NA/E Net assets/equity (statement of changes)