Public sector balance sheet

A Public Sector Balance Sheet, like a balance sheet in the corporate world, reports comprehensively on what a government owns and owes, as well as its own capital. As such, it is a critical element of a system of Public Financial Management. A balance sheet, or statement of financial position, recognises and discloses the assets, liabilities, and net worth at a given point in time, for a government entity, a government or the whole public sector. An important metric for the fiscal position of the whole public sector is public sector net worth.

For a government at any level, local, regional or national, the balance sheet offers greater fiscal transparency, being more comprehensive than the conventional metrics of debt and deficits. 

The quality of the financial statements depends on the quality of data used and what basis of accounting is used to compose the balance sheet and the other financial statements.