1001 Overview

This chapter establishes the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) financial policies regarding VA’s other assets

Key points covered in this chapter:

• VA will record, report, and disclose other assets in accordance with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-136 and Statement of Federal Financial Accounting Standards (SFFAS) 1; and
• Other Assets is a combination of immaterial assets that do not merit individual line-item presentation in the financial statements.

1002 Revisions

For a complete listing of previous policy revisions, see Appendix A.

Section	Revision	Office	Reason for Change	Effective Date
Various	Format and references revised	OFP (047G)	Full review	January 2024
1003	Added Assets; updated definitions	OFP (047G)	Full review	January 2024
1003	Replaced “Public” with “Other Than Intragovernmental”	OFR	Consistency with Balance Sheet	January 2024
100501	Removed provision addressing advances	OFP (047G)	Detail related to FY20 Agency Financial Report note	January 2024

1003 Definitions

Advances – Cash outlays made by a Federal entities to cover a part, or all, of a recipient’s anticipated expenses.

Assets – Tangible or intangible items owned by the Federal Government which have probable future economic benefits. An asset has two essential characteristics: (1) it embodies economic benefits or services that can be used in the future and (2) VA controls access to the economic benefits and therefore can regulate their use.

General Property, Plant, and Equipment (PP&E) – Tangible assets that have an estimated useful life of two or more years, are not intended for sale in the ordinary course of operations and are intended to be used or available for use by the entity. PP&E includes land and land rights owned by the Federal Government acquired for or in connection with items of PP&E.

Intragovernmental Assets – Assets arising from VA’s claims against federal entities.

Other Assets – A consolidated category of assets that are immaterial to the entity and do not warrant separate reporting.

Other Than Intragovernmental Assets – Assets arising from VA’s claims against nonfederal entities.

U.S. Standard General Ledger (USSGL) – A uniform chart of accounts and technical guidance for standardizing federal agency accounting.

1004 Roles and Responsibilities

Under Secretaries, Assistant Secretaries, and Other Key Officials are responsible for ensuring compliance with the policies contained in this chapter.

Administration and Staff Offices are responsible for posting and reconciling other assets under their jurisdictions.

1005 Policies

100501 Recordation, Disclosure, and Reporting

1. Administrations and Staff Offices will promptly record (within the accounting period received), reconcile, and report other assets under their jurisdictions.
2. In accordance with OMB Circular A-136, VA will disclose in the notes to the financial statements the amount and nature of its other assets.
3. VA will consolidate other assets balances from the GL for inclusion in quarterly and year-end financial statements.
4. VA will distinguish between intragovernmental and other than intragovernmental assets both on the face of its financial statements and in the related notes.

1006 Authorities and References

• Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Board  Handbooks by Chapter
  • SFFAS 1, Accounting for Selected Assets and Liabilities
• OMB Circulars
  • A-136, Financial Reporting Requirements

1007 Rescissions

Volume V, Assets, Chapter 10 – Other Assets, dated June 2021.

1008 Policy Approval

This policy was approved by the VA Chief Financial Officer’s Council on January 10, 2024.

Appendix A: Previous Policy Revisions

Section	Revision	Office	Reason for Change	Effective Date
Various	Completed 5-year review.	OFP (047G)	Clarify policy and update links	June 2021
Various	Reformatted to new policy format and completed 5-year review	OFP (047G)	Reorganized chapter layout	December 2018
1005 Policies	Updated policy statements	OFP (047G)	Properly reflect VA’s current other assets reporting and disclosure	December 2018