Checked 29 September 2026. From the revised syllabus of 12.07.2024 and the Gazette notifications of IGAS 1 (2010), IGAS 2 (2011), IGAS 3 (2012) and IGAS 4 (2023). A new IGAS notified under Article 150 would not enter the syllabus unless Exam Wing revises it; none had been notified for this paper by 29 September 2026.
Section V of the Finance & Government Accounts paper is 20 marks of Financial Accounting. It has three parts: the basics of financial accounting (nature, scope, limitations, concepts, conventions and GAAP), the four Indian Government Accounting Standards notified so far, and two chapters of the Account Code for Accountant General. The standards are short Gazette notifications with exact rules and exact dates, which is what makes them good MCQ material. This guide gives each standard's date, scope and core rule from the Gazette text, and a matcher that tells you which standard governs a transaction. ProSyllabus is an independent study site, not part of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the Indian Audit and Accounts Department or the Controller General of Accounts. Every rule here is quoted or summarised from Exam Wing and field-office circulars and from the documents the syllabus names; the competent authority in your office decides every individual case.
Where other pages get this wrong
IGAS 2 (grants-in-aid) was notified on 19 May 2011 and applies from 1 April 2011, even though the Gazette masthead above it prints "May 19, 2010".
Commonly published instead: The masthead date of 2010, repeated from the first line of the Gazette page.
The notification text itself reads "New Delhi, the 19th May, 2011", the Saka date on the masthead (Vaisakha 29, 1933) falls in 2011, and the standard says it is effective for periods beginning from 1.4.2011. We print 2011 and note the masthead as a misprint; that reading is ours.
Revised syllabus (12.07.2024); IGAS Gazette notifications on the GASAB site (official).
What Section V names
| Part | Topics named | Reference named |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Financial accounting | Nature and scope; limitations of financial accounting; basic concepts and conventions; Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) | Introduction to Accounting, T S Grewal (the syllabus prints "Greval") |
| 2. IGAS | IGAS 1 Guarantees; IGAS 2 Grants-in-aid; IGAS 3 Loans & Advances; IGAS 4 Prior period adjustments | The IGAS page of gasab.gov.in |
| 3. Account Code for Accountant General | Chapter 5: inter-government transactions and their adjustments; Chapter 7: transfer entries | Account Code for Accountant General |
The four standards at a glance
| Standard | Notification | Effective | Core rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| IGAS 1: Guarantees given by Governments, disclosure requirements | S.O. 2979(E), 20.12.2010 (Gazette Extraordinary No. 2530) | Periods beginning on or after 1.4.2010 | Uniform disclosure of guarantees in the Finance Accounts: class-wise for the Union, sector-wise for States |
| IGAS 2: Accounting and classification of grants-in-aid | S.O. 1113(E), 19.05.2011 (Gazette masthead prints 2010) | Periods beginning from 1.4.2011 | Grants given are revenue expenditure of the grantor and grants received are revenue receipts of the grantee, whatever the purpose |
| IGAS 3: Loans and advances made by Governments | S.O. 268(E), 13.02.2012 (Gazette Extraordinary No. 238) | Periods beginning 1 April of the year after notification | Loans recognised on disbursement at historical cost; carrying amount, interest in arrears and repayments in arrears disclosed |
| IGAS 4: Prior period adjustments | S.O. 1033(E), 02.03.2023 (Gazette Extraordinary No. 992) | Periods commencing 1.4.2023 | Errors and government-decision adjustments for closed years presented and disclosed in the current year; material where its value can be expressed in clear terms and is Rs 1,000 or more |
Every one of them is made by the President, on the advice of the Comptroller and Auditor General, under Article 150 of the Constitution, which lets the President prescribe the form of the accounts of the Union and the States on the CAG's advice. Regulation 165(4) of the Regulations on Audit and Accounts, in Section II, says the same in terms: standards proposed by GASAB and notified by the Government are under the authority of Article 150 (regulation 164 is about the form of accounts), so a question on "under which article are IGAS notified" belongs to both sections. All four apply to cash-basis government accounts.
IGAS 1: guarantees
What IGAS 1 requires
- A guarantee is "an accessory contract" by which the promisor answers to the promisee for another person's debt or default. Guarantees normally constitute a contingent liability of the government.
- The Finance Accounts disclose, by class or sector: the maximum amount guaranteed during the year, additions and deletions, guarantees outstanding at the start and end of the year, guarantees invoked (discharged or not), and guarantee commission or fee.
- Notes disclose any limit on guarantees, any Guarantee Redemption or Reserve Fund and its balances, external foreign-currency guarantees in rupees, Automatic Debit Mechanisms and Structured Payment Arrangements, whether the budget shows guarantees, and the tracking unit.
- When a guarantee is invoked and paid, the payment is treated as a loan to the beneficiary. If it later proves irrecoverable, it is written off to the Guarantee Reserve Fund where one exists, otherwise to "Irrecoverable loan written off" under the function for which the loan was guaranteed, and where that purpose cannot be identified, to "Miscellaneous General Services".
IGAS 1, S.O. 2979(E) of 20.12.2010 (official), in our words except where quoted.
IGAS 2: grants-in-aid
What IGAS 2 requires
- Grants-in-aid in cash are recognised by the grantor when the cash is disbursed and by the grantee when it is received. Grants in kind, where a value under para 12 is available, are recognised in the books of both grantor and grantee when the grantee receives them.
- The grantor classifies a grant as revenue expenditure "irrespective of the purpose", even when the grantee builds an asset with it. The grantee classifies it as a revenue receipt. Pass-through grants (Union to State to an ultimate grantee) are revenue expenditure for both the Union and the State.
- A grant may be debited to a capital head only in cases specifically authorised by the President on the advice of the CAG, and those cases are disclosed.
- Grants in kind that are consumables, or worth less than Rs 1 crore, are disclosed in quantitative terms; those for natural calamities are disclosed in quantity as well as value; others are valued at the grantor's cost, else at market value, else at replacement cost.
- The grantor discloses total funds released and the part allocated for creating capital assets, in an appendix to the Finance Accounts.
IGAS 2, S.O. 1113(E) of 19.05.2011, paras 7 to 23 (official), in our words except where quoted.
IGAS 3: loans and advances
What IGAS 3 requires
- "Advances" means loans to government servants only. A "loan in perpetuity" needs only interest to be serviced.
- A loan is an asset from the date the money is actually disbursed, not the date of sanction. Instalments are separate loans unless the competent authority consolidates them at the end of the financial year.
- Conversion of a loan into equity reduces the outstanding loan. Debt assumed on invocation of a guarantee is treated as a disbursement of a loan, "unless otherwise so specified".
- Measurement is at historical cost; the carrying amount moves only with disbursements, repayments and write-offs. Interest in arrears is shown in a separate column and is not added to the loan balance.
- The Finance Accounts disclose loans in three parts: a summary by loanee group and sector, a detailed statement by major and minor head with repayments in arrears, and additional disclosures of fresh loans (not those to employees), loans with terms not yet settled, and fresh loans to entities already in arrears.
IGAS 3, S.O. 268(E) of 13.02.2012 (official), in our words except where quoted.
IGAS 4: prior period adjustments
What IGAS 4 requires
- A prior period adjustment is the rectification of an error, or an adjustment due to a change in government decisions, affecting balances and progressive figures of years whose accounts are closed.
- It covers cases such as converting loans to equity or grants and back, and misclassification between loan heads. Continuing to book under the old head after a conversion order is treated as an error.
- It does not cover arrears of pay, pension or DA paid now for past years, and it does not cover defaults on loans and grants dealt with by IGAS 2 and IGAS 3.
- Disclosure is in three annexures: the summary of balances, details of each adjustment (frauds of any value are recorded as "fraud"), and the impact on capital expenditure heads.
- An adjustment is material if its value "can be expressed in clear terms" and is Rs 1,000 or more. Frauds are recorded whatever their value.
IGAS 4, S.O. 1033(E) of 02.03.2023 (official), in our words except where quoted.
IGAS 4's preamble ties back to Section IV. It says prior period adjustments in the Union Finance Accounts are governed by para 5.15.3 of the Civil Accounts Manual, while the Account Code for Accountants General has no such rule for the States, and that most States were either ignoring such adjustments or passing transfer entries to correct them. Transfer entries are exactly what Chapter 7 of the Account Code, also in this section, deals with.
Which standard applies?
IGAS matcher
Pick a transaction. The matcher names the standard that governs it and the rule that applies. The transactions are our examples; the rules are from the Gazette texts.
IGAS 1 to 4 Gazette notifications (official). Same rules as the table below.
| Transaction (our example) | Standard | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| A State guarantees a loan taken by its power corporation from a bank | IGAS 1 Guarantees | Disclose the guarantee in the Finance Accounts (maximum amount, additions, deletions, outstanding, invoked, commission). A guarantee is a contingent liability; nothing is booked as expenditure when it is given. |
| The guarantee is invoked and the State pays the bank | IGAS 1 Guarantees (and IGAS 3) | The payment is treated as a loan to the entity on whose behalf the guarantee was given (IGAS 1 para I); IGAS 3 treats debt assumption on invocation as a loan disbursement, "unless otherwise so specified". |
| The Union gives a State a grant to build a hospital | IGAS 2 Grants-in-aid | Revenue expenditure for the Union, whatever the grant is used for, unless the President, on the advice of the CAG, has specifically authorised a capital head (paras 9 and 13). |
| A State receives that grant | IGAS 2 Grants-in-aid | Revenue receipt for the State, irrespective of purpose (para 11). |
| A grant in kind of stores worth less than Rs 1 crore | IGAS 2 Grants-in-aid | Disclosed in quantitative terms (para 12(a)). |
| A State lends to a cooperative society in three instalments | IGAS 3 Loans and Advances | Recognised as an asset when each instalment is disbursed, not when sanctioned; each instalment is a separate loan unless the competent authority consolidates them at year end. |
| A loan to a PSU is converted into equity this year | IGAS 3 Loans and Advances (and IGAS 4 if closed years are affected) | Treated as a conversion that reduces the outstanding loan (IGAS 3). Where the Government decision requires adjusting balances of years already closed, it is a prior period adjustment disclosed under IGAS 4 Annexure 2. |
| An error in a closed year's accounts is found this year | IGAS 4 Prior Period Adjustments | Presented and disclosed in the current year under Annexures 1 to 3; material if its value can be expressed in clear terms and is Rs 1,000 or more; frauds of any value are recorded. |
| DA arrears for last year are paid this year | Not IGAS 4 | IGAS 4 excludes arrears from pay, pension or DA revisions: they are not errors or policy adjustments (scope para C(2)). |
Financial accounting basics and the Account Code
The first part of Section V is the opening chapters of any commerce textbook, and the syllabus names T S Grewal's "Introduction to Accounting" for it. Expect definitions and distinctions: what financial accounting records and what it leaves out (it records money transactions of the past, not the value of people or future events), the concepts (business entity, money measurement, going concern, accounting period, cost, dual aspect, realisation, accrual, matching) and conventions (consistency, full disclosure, materiality, conservatism), and what GAAP means: the collective body of concepts, conventions and standards that decides how transactions are recorded and reported. The usual limitations are that it records only what can be measured in money, carries assets at historical cost so price changes are not shown, and rests on estimates and judgement. That list is the usual textbook set, in our words; the syllabus names only the headings.
The contrast worth holding in your head is that government accounts, and all four IGAS, work on a cash basis, while the textbook concepts assume accrual. IGAS 3 defines the cash basis in terms: transactions represent actual cash receipts and disbursements during the year, as distinguished from amounts due. A question that asks whether a grant is recognised when sanctioned or when paid is testing exactly that difference.
The Account Code for Accountant General is the rulebook for accounts compiled in the offices of the Accountants General (State accounts), the counterpart of the Civil Accounts Manual for the Union. The syllabus names two chapters: Chapter 5 on inter-government transactions and their adjustments, and Chapter 7 on transfer entries. We have not banked the text of the Account Code, so this page does not summarise those chapters; read them from the copy in your office library. Chapter 8 of the Civil Accounts Manual (inter-governmental adjustments) is the Union-side counterpart of Chapter 5.
How Section V links to the rest of the paper
| Section V topic | Linked elsewhere in the paper |
|---|---|
| IGAS 1 Guarantees | CAM 2007 Ch 10 (para 10.10 guarantees); Finance Accounts statement of guarantees (CAM 2007 Ch 16) |
| IGAS 2 Grants-in-aid | CAM 2007 Ch 10 (para 10.9 grants-in-aid); CAM 2007 para 4.6 (capital and revenue) |
| IGAS 3 Loans and Advances | CAM 2007 Ch 10 (loans, advances, loans registers) |
| IGAS 4 Prior period adjustments | CAM 2007 para 5.15 (proforma corrections, 5.15.3 named in the IGAS 4 preamble) |
| All IGAS | Article 150; RAA 2020 Chapter 14 (form of accounts, GASAB) |
| Account Code Ch 5 | CAM 2007 Ch 8 (inter-governmental adjustments) |
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Which IGAS are in the Sr. Accountant incentive exam?
IGAS 1 Guarantees, IGAS 2 Grants-in-aid, IGAS 3 Loans and Advances and IGAS 4 Prior period adjustments.
How is a grant-in-aid classified under IGAS 2?
As revenue expenditure of the grantor and revenue receipt of the grantee, whatever the purpose, unless the President, on the CAG's advice, has specifically authorised a capital head.
When is a government loan recognised under IGAS 3?
From the date the money is actually disbursed, not the date of sanction. Each instalment is a separate loan unless consolidated at year end.
What is the materiality threshold in IGAS 4?
Rs 1,000: a prior period adjustment whose value can be expressed in clear terms is material at that amount or more. Frauds of any value are recorded regardless.
Does IGAS 4 cover DA or pay arrears?
No. Arrears from pay, pension or DA revisions are excluded because they are neither errors nor policy adjustments.
Under which article are the IGAS made?
Article 150 of the Constitution, by the President on the advice of the CAG.
Which book is named for financial accounting?
Introduction to Accounting by T S Grewal. The syllabus prints the name as "Greval".
Sources
- official — Revised Syllabus of "Incentive Examination for Senior Accountants", Paper: Finance & Government Accounts (standalone copy on the CAG Syllabus and Books page, PDF of 15.07.2024)
- official — Exam Wing Circular No. 02 of 2024, No. 237/03-Exam/Syllabus Revision/2024 (12.07.2024): revised syllabus of the DE for Accountants and the IE for Sr. Accountants of A&E offices, applicable from the date of issue
- official — GASAB: Indian Government Accounting Standards (IGAS) page, with the Gazette notifications of IGAS 1 (S.O. 2979(E), 20.12.2010), IGAS 2 (S.O. 1113(E), 19.05.2011), IGAS 3 (S.O. 268(E), 13.02.2012) and IGAS 4 (S.O. 1033(E), 02.03.2023)
- official — Constitution of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice)
- official — Regulations on Audit and Accounts (Amendments) 2020, the CAG book (15 chapters, 173 regulations)
- official — Civil Accounts Manual, Revised Second Edition 2007, Controller General of Accounts (as hosted by CGA)
- official — Civil Accounts Manual, Revised Fourth Edition 2024, Controller General of Accounts (603 pages), including "Concordance Table II w.r.to CAM 2007 and CAM 2024" on printed pages 424 to 429
official = a document published by the conducting body. reported = a news or coaching site we could not check against an original. Where sources disagree this page says so rather than picking one.
