Do the Government Financial Statements include the size of our reserves?

The Statement of Assets and Liabilities (SAL) is part of the Government Financial Statements (GFS) that are submitted to Parliament at the end of each financial year in accordance with the Constitution.

The Government’s total financial assets as reflected in the SAL do not represent the size of our national reserves.

a. The SAL reflects how the cash and investment balances of the Government are accounted for in funds and deposit accounts that are established in accordance with the laws governing them.

b. The Government’s total financial assets records the gross assets comprising cash and investments that are set aside in these funds and deposit accounts.

c. These assets include Government borrowings such as the Special Singapore Government Securities issued to the CPF Board. The Government’s total financial assets is thus not a proxy for the size of the reserves.

More details can be found in the explanatory notes to the SAL within the GFS.