This publication is an operations manual for the Financial Management System (FMS) of government statistics. It defines the scope and precise nature of data currently available for government financial transactions and the accounting concepts which underlie that data.

The Financial Management System (FMS) of government statistics comprises financial and employment data on government and government-owned enterprises at the federal, provincial, territorial and local levels. It is the only system which permits inter-provincial or inter-level comparisons on a programmatic basis. As such, it is used as the basis for short-term economic forecasts, detailed comparisons of past activity, and the operation of various federal-provincial financial arrangements including the provincial equalization program. The manual describes the current system. Provision has been made for modification as is required to reflect the changing nature of the universe being described, changes in the underlying concepts and the needs of users.

Custodian: Statistics Canada