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Federal Accounting Corner 

Navigating the Transaction Jungle — Appropriation-Type Activity

The Standard General Ledger has issued guidance listing standard transaction categories. The listing can be very confusing, however, as many transactions are similar and it may not be immediately obvious why certain accounts are used in one transaction and not in another. To supplement the listing, I present an analysis of appropriation postings. SGL entries are listed in square brackets.

Transaction:  Appropriation-Type Activity

This entry increases available authority. To decrease authority, the debits and credits are reversed.

Purpose

To record appropriation activity for other than special and trust funds. This analysis does not cover anticipations, appropriations of receipts or transfers of obligated funds. Include the cash entries only if a warrant accompanies the authority. Record a receivable or payable if a warrant or transfer is pending, but not if the authority is only anticipated.

Account Selection

Authority Source—Generally this is 4119 [A104, A125, A155, A196, A199]. Liquidation authority would use 4111 for debt or 4112 for deficiency [A104, A196, A199]. Loan authority would use 4115 for the original subsidy, 4118 for the reestimated subsidy, or 4117 for the administrative expense [A104, A196, A199]. For a reappropriation of old-year funds, use 4393 for the old fund [A106, A112] and 4150 for the current fund [A110], though if the losing fund's authority was granted this year, use 4392 instead of 4393. Most rescissions use 4392 for current-year authority and 4393 for old-year [A132, A136]. If contract authority is being liquidated, use 4138 [A170] or 4130 for reductions [A169]. Most transfers of current-year authority use 4170 and prior-year use 4190 [A472, A476, A480, A484]. If the transfer is from an expired appropriation to an unexpired one, then use 4191 if this is not a reappropriation [A460, A464]. If the transfer is from an unexpired appropriation to an expired one, then use 4192 [A408, A412]. Both accounts 4191 and 4192 require OMB approval. Allocation transfers of current-year authority use 4175 and prior-year use 4176 [A404, A432, A436, A440, A444, A448].

Funds Status—If the funds are subject to apportionment, use 4450 if they are to be apportioned or 4430 if the apportionment is deferred [A126]. If apportioned funds are transferred or reappropriated, you may use 4510 [A106, A404, A412, A440, A444, A448] or use 4450 and record the apportionment separately [A116]. Use 4620 if the funds are not subject to apportionment. If the appropriation was previously anticipated, reduce the anticipation instead (generally account 4120) [A102 to anticipate and A104, A196 or A199 to realize]. If expired funds are being reapportioned or transferred, post 4650 in the expired fund [A112, A408, A432, A436, A448, A464, A480, A484]. Use account 4420 if the rescission is anticipated [A137 to anticipate the pending rescission, A136 to realize it]. If the appropriation will substitute for already obligated borrowing authority, use account 4140 [A155]. If the appropriation liquidates contract authority, use account 4135 [A170, A169 for withdrawal]. Use 4160 for current-year authority or 4180 for prior-year if the transfer was anticipated [A468, A470 to anticipate and A472, A476 to realize].

Cash—Generally use account 1010. For continuing resolution, use 1090 [A197, liquidate using A198].  If the warrant is delayed for a rescission, use 2990 [A132, A136]. For transfers between agencies, use account 1330 as the receivable [A440, liquidate with A428] and 2150 as the payable [A444]. Do not post proprietary entries when an anticipation or advance funding is recorded.

Equity—All new appropriations use account 3101 [A104], as do continuing resolutions [A197, A198], reappropriations in the current fund [A110], and warrants liquidating contract or borrowing authority [A104, A155, A170]. When withdrawing funds for a reappropriation [A106, A112], rescission [A132, A136], or contract authority withdrawal [A169] use 3106. Use 3102 when funds are transferred in [A408, A436, A448, A460, A472, A480] and 3103 when transferred out [A404, A412, A432, A440, A444, A464, A476, A484]. Do not post proprietary entries when an anticipation or advance funding is recorded. —Simcha Kuritzky, CGFM, CPA

This column is provided as part of a free exchange of ideas in federal accounting, and is not reviewed substantively before publication. Please send all comments, queries, or corrections to Simcha.Kuritzky@CGIFederal.com.