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Throughout the year the Commonwealth of Massachusetts accounts for its financial operations on the statutory basis of accounting, often referred to as the “budgetary basis”. The Commonwealth’s budget and the statutory basis financial statements follow the accounting principles defined by Massachusetts law.
For its Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR), the Commonwealth reports on the basis of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) as defined for governments by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board. These instructions assist departments in preparing the GAAP departmental information included in the Annual Report.
Three sets of GAAP Instructions are provided: one for most Commonwealth of Massachusetts departments, one specific to Institutes of Higher Education, and one for Component Units.
For the Fiscal Year 2024 financial reporting cycle, all GAAP information has a uniform due date of Friday, August 16, 2024.