Financial management and reporting guidance
This category contains guidance to assist departments and their agencies and bodies in exercising good financial management and reporting. It also contains guidance on the Whole of Government Accounts process.
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Financial reporting
This section encompasses current guidance to ensure the highest standards of financial reporting for the central government sector, including their agencies and non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), and monitoring the laying and publication of resource accounts before the Northern Ireland Assembly.
The guidance is categorised as follows:
- 2025 financial reporting guidance
- 2024 financial reporting guidance
- 2023 financial reporting guidance (all guidance issued in 2023 has since been superseded)
- 2022 financial reporting guidance
- 2021 financial reporting guidance
- 2020 financial reporting guidance
- 2019 financial reporting guidance
- 2018 financial reporting guidance (all guidance issued in 2018 has since been superseded)
- 2017 financial reporting guidance (all guidance issued in 2017 has since been superseded)
- 2016 financial reporting guidance
- 2015 financial reporting guidance
- 2014 financial reporting guidance (all guidance issued in 2014 has since been superseded)
- 2013 financial reporting guidance
- 2012 financial reporting guidance
- 2011 financial reporting guidance
- pre-2010 financial reporting guidance
Government financial reporting manuals and accounts proformas
This section contains current and previous years' government financial reporting manuals (FReM) and illustrative accounts proformas. In addition, this section also contains FReM exposure drafts currently open for comment:
- 2024-25 FReM and accounts proformas
- 2023-24 FReM and accounts proformas
- 2022-23 FReM and accounts proformas
- 2021-22 FReM and accounts proformas
- 2020-21 FReM and accounts proformas
- 2019-20 FReM and accounts proformas
- 2018-19 FReM and accounts proformas
- 2017-18 FReM and accounts proformas
- 2016-17 FReM and accounts proformas
- 2015-16 FReM and accounts proformas
- 2014-15 FReM and accounts proformas
- 2013-14 FReM and accounts proformas
- 2012-13 FReM and accounts proformas
- 2011-12 FReM and accounts proformas
- 2010-11 FReM
Whole of Government Accounts (WGA)
This section contains guidance for Northern Ireland departments and NDPBs, local councils, health trusts and public corporations, required to prepare WGA returns, and the relevant Data Collection Tools (DCTs).
WGA is a consolidated set of financial statements for the UK public sector. It consolidates around 4,000 bodies in total, including central government departments, local authorities, devolved administrations, the health service, and public corporations. Accountability and Financial Management Division within Department of Finance (DoF) prepare two subconsolidations for Northern Ireland, which then feed into Her Majesty's Treasury's (HMT) overall consolidation:
Financial management
This section contains guidance in relation to the prompt payment of invoices, the disposal of public sector assets and the sponsorship of government events:
Financial audit
This section contains guidance relating to the legislative authority for Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) to audit all NDPBs, including companies, and the protocol for NIAO to access records held on RecordsNI: