20-40 Local Government Code of Accounting Practice and Financial Reporting 2020-21
| Circular Details | 20-40 / 11 December 2020 / A750864 |
| Who should read this | General Managers / Financial accounting business areas |
| Contact | Policy Team / (02) 4428 4100 / code@olg.nsw.gov.au |
| Action required | Council/Joint Organisations to implement |
| PDF Version | Council Circular 20-40 – PDF |
What’s new or changing
- The final Code of Accounting Practice and Financial Reporting (Code) is available for preparing councils’ 2020-21 financial statements.
- A Joint Organisation (JO) Supplement to the Code is available for preparing JO 2020-21 financial statements.
What this will mean for your council/JO
- The Code must be used by councils and JOs to prepare their annual financial statements in accordance with the Local Government Act 1993 and the Local Government (General) Regulation 2005.
Key points
- The Code has been prepared in accordance with the Local Government Act 1993, the Australian Accounting Standards and other requirements.
- To enhance the readability and user friendliness of the Code, extensive restructuring and formatting has been undertaken.
- Changes highlighted in yellow are new for 2020-21.
- Councils and JOs should carefully review the key changes in this year’s Code, which are also detailed within the Summary of key changes to the Code 2020-21 document.
- A reference tool to assist with mapping from the previous Code to the new Code structure is also provided.
- The JO Supplement to the Code supports JOs preparing financial statements.
- The introduction and overview of the Code provides guidance to JOs on the application of the JO Supplement.
- The Code has been developed in consultation with key stakeholders, including the NSW Audit Office, council and JO representatives, external auditors and LGNSW.
Where to go for further information
- OLG’s website has the:
- Code comprising of five documents:
- General Purpose Financial Statements (Section 1)
- Joint Organisations Supplement (Section 2)
- Special Purpose Financial Statements (Section3)
- Special Schedules (section 4), and
- Appendices (Section 5)
- Summary of key changes to the Code 2020-21
- Mapping tool – Code 2019-20 to 2020-21
- OLG’s Accounting Practice page can be found here: https://www.olg.nsw.gov.au/councils/council-finances/financial-reporting/local-government-code-of-accounting-practice-and-financial-reporting/
Tim Hurst
Deputy Secretary Local Government