GAO Glossary of Terms and Definitions (September 2005)

Standard General Ledger (SGL) Chart of Accounts

A chart of accounts (and technical guidance) established to support the consistent recording of financial events as well as the preparation of standard external reports required by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Department of the Treasury. Agencies are required by law (31 U.S.C. § 3512) to “implement and maintain financial management systems that comply substantially with,” among other things, the Standard General Ledger. It contains two complete and separate, but integrated, self-balancing sets of accounts—budgetary and proprietary. Budgetary accounts are used to recognize and track budget approval and execution, whereas proprietary accounts are used to recognize and track assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses. The Standard General Ledger is reproduced in the Treasury Financial Manual “Standard General Ledger Supplement,” available at www.fms.treas.gov/ussgl/index.html. OMB policies regarding the Standard General Ledger are in OMB Circular No. A-127.

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