Closing a government entity's accounts at year end is where accounting theory meets institutional reality: settlements, prepayments, adjustments, and controls all have to reconcile before a single final statement can be trusted. Get the process wrong and the resulting reports mislead the very decision-makers they're meant to inform.

This Arab British Fellowship Training Academy training course is built around that closing process — settling accounts, adjusting salaries, custodies, loans, and revenues, and producing final financial statements from an adjusted trial balance — before moving into the broader principles and standards that govern government accounting systems. It suits accounting and finance managers, auditors, and anyone responsible for financial decisions inside government departments.

Course Objectives

• Settle accounts, expenses, and revenues, and determine receivables and prepayments accurately.
• Apply controls for account settlement and closing, and prepare final financial statements from an adjusted trial balance.
• Adjust and control salaries, wages, custodies, loans, revenues, and financial assets.
• Apply the core principles and standards that govern government accounting systems.
• Use advanced tools to forecast future financial performance and identify damages arising from accounting treatments.

Who Should Attend?

• Managers and heads of accounting and finance departments.
• Those responsible for administrative and financial decisions in companies and government departments.
• Internal and external accountants and auditors.

Module 1: Closing Government Accounts and Preparing Final Statements

• Settlement of accounts, expenses, and revenues.
• Determining receivables and prepayments.
• Controls for settlement and closing, and reviewing balances after closure.
• Preparing final financial statements from the adjusted trial balance.

Module 2: Adjusting and Controlling Salaries, Custodies, Loans, and Revenues

• Adjustments and controls for salaries and wages.
• Adjustments and controls for custodies and trusts.
• Adjustments and controls for loans, expenses, and revenues.
• Adjustments and controls for financial assets, supported by practical applications.

Module 3: Principles and Foundations of Government Accounting

• The characteristics and purposes of accounting, and government accounting methods.
• Accounting standards and the foundations of the accounting system in government agencies.
• Files, books, and reports within accounting systems, and computational system applications.
• Core accounting definitions, principles, and functions, including gains, revenues, and the monetary basis for distinguishing account types.

Module 4: Financial Reporting Standards and Internal Control

• The development of accounting theory and updating/issuing financial reporting standards.
• Introduction to financial statements and their elements (balance sheet, income statement, cash flows).
• Annual reports and internal control over financial reporting.
• Advanced tools for predicting future performance and identifying damages from accounting treatments.