국가회계 우발부채 회계처리에 대한 비판적 검토: 반복지출 우발부채 사례를 중심으로

This study investigates the case of recurrent contingent liabilities and suggests the policy implication for practical use of the financial statements of Korea which have been published based on accrual accounting from 2011. The amount of recurrent contingent liabilities is more than 1 trillion won each year, which is comparable to the one-year net operating costs of several ministries of the central government. However, the government does not account for provisions regarding these expenditures for the reason that it is difficult to estimate future costs reasonably. In this study, we critically investigate and compare IFRS, IPSAS, and the national accounting standards in relation to recurrent contingent liabilities. Since most of the recurrent contingent liabilities are based on laws, agreements and policies, outflow of resources or potential services will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured with sufficient reliability. We argue that, considering the inherent characteristics of the government sector, the fiscal environment, and policy objectives in Korea, it is meaningful to account recurrent contingent liabilities as provisions in financial statements. Ultimately, it is expected to strengthen the public accountability of the government and to enhance the policy utilization of the accrual based national accounting information.