General Information on the Public Accounts of Canada

The Public Accounts of Canada is the report of the Government of Canada prepared annually by the Receiver General, as required by section 64 of the Financial Administration Act. It covers the fiscal year of the Government, which ends on March 31.

The information contained in the report originates from two sources of data:

• the summarized financial transactions presented in the accounts of Canada, maintained by the Receiver General; and
• the detailed records, maintained by departments and agencies.

Each department and agency is responsible for reconciling its accounts to the control accounts of the Receiver General, and for maintaining detailed records of the transactions in their accounts.

The Public Accounts of Canada is produced in three volumes:

• Volume I presents the financial statements of Canada on which the Auditor General has expressed an opinion and provided her observations; a discussion and analysis of the financial statements and a ten-year comparison of financial information; analyses of revenues and expenses, and of asset and liability accounts; and various other statements.
• Volume II presents the financial operations of the Government, segregated by ministry and is designed to reflect as closely as possible the form and content of Part II of the Main Estimates.
• Volume III presents additional information and analyses. Its content is summarized as follows:
  • financial statements of revolving funds (Section 1)
  • supplementary information required by the Financial Administration Act (Section 2)
  • professional and special services (Section 3)
  • acquisition of land, buildings and works (Section 4)
  • acquisition of machinery and equipment (Section 5)
  • transfer payments (Section 6)
  • public debt charges (Section 7)
  • payments of claims against the Crown, ex gratia payments and court awards (Section 8)
  • federal-provincial shared-cost programs (Section 9)
  • other Government-wide information (Section 10)
  • other miscellaneous information (Section 11)

Unpublished detailed information relating to Sections 3, 4 and 6 of Volume III of the Public Accounts of Canada 2007 are as follows:

• Section 3 (Professional and Special Services)
  
  This statement presents the total amount spent in 2006-2007 for each main classification of professional and special services, displayed under each ministry. It also provides, for each main classification of services, a detailed listing, where applicable, of the payments (i.e. cash payments and accrued charges) aggregating to $100,000 or over to one individual or organization. This detail includes the name and location of the payee, together with the total amount paid. In cases where certain organizations have more than one place of business, their Head Office location was used for reporting purposes. Amounts reported include both internal and external expenditures. Whereas external expenditures result from transactions between the Government and outside parties, internal expenditures result from transactions involving organizations that are part of the Government of Canada as a reporting entity.
  
• Section 4 (Acquisition of land, buildings and works)
  
  This statement presents the total amounts spent in 2006-2007 and details for contracts of $250,000 or over ($25,000 or over for cost plus contracts), displayed under each ministry. Such details include the name and location of the contractor, a brief description and location of the project, the amount contracted, the current year's expenditures (i.e. cash payments and accrued charges) and the total expenditures to date. Amounts reported include both internal and external expenditures. Whereas external expenditures result from transactions between the Government and outside parties, internal expenditures result from transactions involving organizations that are part of the Government of Canada as a reporting entity.
  
• Section 6 (Transfer payments)
  
  This statement presents the total amount spent in 2006-2007 for each transfer payment, displayed under each ministry. A transfer payment is a grant, contribution or other payment made by the Government for which no goods or services are received. It also provides, for each class of recipients, a detailed listing, where applicable, of the payments (i.e. cash payments and accrued charges) aggregating to $100,000 or over to a recipient (one individual or organization). This detail shows the name and location of the recipient, together with the total amount paid. In cases where certain organizations have more than one place of business, their Head Office location was used for reporting purposes. Amounts reported include both internal and external expenditures. Whereas external expenditures result from transactions between the Government and outside parties, internal expenditures result from transactions involving organizations that are part of the Government of Canada as a reporting entity.