Office of the Comptroller Issues Fiscal Year 2020 Statutory Basis Financial Report
Updated: Mar 26
Today, Comptroller of the Commonwealth William McNamara issued the Commonwealth’s Statutory Basis Financial Report (SBFR) for Fiscal Year 2020, the period that ended June 30, 2020.
Each year, the SBFR is prepared by the Office of the Comptroller and reviewed by the Commonwealth’s independent Certified Public Accountants. This report meets the statutory requirement in Massachusetts General Laws (M.G.L.) c. 7A, § 12 to present fairly the results of the prior fiscal year’s activity in the Commonwealth’s funds, to compute and certify the balance in the Stabilization Fund, and to disclose and report certain aspects of financial performance as directed by statute.
The SBFR focuses primarily on the budgeted funds of the Commonwealth. The statutory (or budgetary) basis of accounting is defined by M.G.L. and does not conform to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) as defined for governments by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). The Office of the Comptroller will report the Commonwealth’s financial position on a GAAP basis in the forthcoming Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR), which is currently in production.
According to M.G.L. c. 7A, § 12(a)(2), the SBFR must be published not later than October 31.
Preparation of the SBFR by the Office of the Comptroller is dependent upon the closing of the fiscal year. This year, that did not occur until after November 10, 2020, when the Fiscal Year 2020 Supplemental Appropriations Act was signed into law. As a result, this office was not able to file the SBFR by the statutorily required date.
“The extraordinary circumstances resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic have understandably delayed the budgetary cycle. Within this context, the filing of the Statutory Basis Financial Report was a secondary concern,” said Comptroller McNamara. “I remain optimistic that in the future, the Commonwealth’s fiscal affairs can be managed to allow for a close to the fiscal year and filing of the Statutory Basis Financial Report that complies with statutes, and I intend to push for that outcome.“
“In this unprecedented time, clear and accurate financial reporting is more important than ever. I am grateful for the collaborative work of the Executive Office of Administration and Finance, the House and Senate Ways and Means Committees, our independent auditors KPMG, and the Office of the Comptroller’s Statewide Financial Reporting Team to compile this annual report,” said Comptroller McNamara.
The FY2020 SBFR has been posted at https://www.macomptroller.org/sbfr.