Financial Statements for a Sovereign State: The Federal Government Reporting Study.
研究了美国和加拿大联邦政府财务报告的用户需求，发现不同用户群体描述信息需求的能力差异大，所有用户都希望获得简洁的年度财务报告摘要。
Abstract This article Focuses on the Federal Government Reporting Study of the U.S. and Canada, which examined what financial information about the federal government is needed by users and for what activities they need it. It was agreed that the Canadian and U.S. Core Group members would work jointly on certain aspects of the study and assume different but complementary roles for other aspects. In all, 131 users were consulted in Canada and 125 in the U.S. across the six user groups during Phase III. An early finding of the study was that user groups varied greatly in their ability to describe their information needs clearly and to relate specific information needs to their specific activities. Citizens and corporate users are the beneficiaries of federal government operations. They have neither the time nor the expertise to analyze such information in terms of its significance in their planning, investing, financing, lending, borrowing, spending, and saving activities. Media and analysts are the most direct users of federal government financial reports, the major source of information about the government for citizens and corporations, and an important source of information for legislators. A fundamental concern of these groups is to obtain a clear understanding of government finances and activities at the summary level as an overview and lead-in to detailed analysis. The need for a concise summary Annual Financial Report was expressed by virtually all users in all user groups. When resources are consumed, the measurement of real cost must take into consideration not only wear and tear and obsolescence, but also inflation and fluctuations in market conditions.