The recast text of the General Budget Law, adopted by Royal Legislative Decree 1091/1988 of 23 September, provides in Article 19 as a general principle that " Public Finance is subject to the accounting both to reflect all types of operations and results of their activity, and to provide data and information in general that are necessary for the development of their functions. "

Title VI of the aforementioned recast text regulates the aspects related to public accounting; in particular, the public accounting system of the State and the entities belonging to the state public sector, the of public accounting, accounting skills, accounting officers and the training and accountability system.

By Royal Decree 324/1986 of 10 February, which is repealed and replaced by this Royal Decree, it was first implemented in a Spanish public administration, in particular in the General Administration of the State, a accounting information system with computer support making use of the technological advances available on those dates.

Among other main objectives, the implementation of this accounting information system allowed the implementation of the General Plan of Public Accounting in the General Administration of the State. There was also an important simplification of the accounting procedures that had been used up to that point.

Since then the accounting information system has been operating in a satisfactory manner, both in its first version implemented in 1986, and in its second version of 1996 which, in addition to a major update technology, incorporated new functionality on the initial version.

at the same time as the modernization of the accounting information system, in recent years other lines of work have been developed to improve and improve public accounting. These activities include the following:

a) Elaboration of the conceptual framework of public accounting by the Commission of Public Accounting Principles and Standards. The work of this Commission, which is chaired by the General Intervention of the State Administration, is made up of leading professionals from the various fields of accounting, crystallized with the publication of eight European Public Accounting Principles.

b) Approval of a new General Public Accounting Plan by Order of the Ministry of Economy and Finance of 6 May 1994. This Plan was implemented in the field of the General Administration of the State on 1 January 1995.

c) Review of the accounting regulations that apply to the General Administration of the State as a result of the approval of the new General Plan of Public Accounting and the implementation of the new version of the accounting information. This review was carried out in the approval of the following Ministerial Orders:

Order of 1 February 1996 approving the Accounting Instruction for the General Administration of the State.

Order of 1 February 1996 approving the Accounting Office Instruction to continue in the execution of State expenditure.

Order of 27 December 1995 on procedures for the payment of obligations of the General Administration of the State.

Order of 1 February 1996 approving the accounting documents to be used by the General Administration of the State.

The accounting information system implemented in the General Administration of the State by Royal Decree 324/1986 was based on a decentralization of the accounting management functions in each of the accounting offices and the implementation of a decentralised accounting model. Continuing with the line of improvement of the accounting information system of the General Administration of the State, there is a need to proceed to centralization of the local databases of this system in the General Intervention of the State administration. This centralization process will allow, apart from the reduction of the maintenance and management costs of the system itself, to enhance the availability of better accounting information, both aggregated and individualized, from any system point.

The centralization of the system involves the application of a centralized accounting model in the field of the General Administration of the State, through a Central Accounting Office, which will contribute better to the effective implementation of the amendments introduced in 1999 to Title VI of the recast text of the General Budget Law, by Law 50/1998 of 30 December 1998 on fiscal, administrative and social measures.

On the other hand, with the approval of the current General Public Accounting Plan of 1994, group 9 was abolished, which was reserved in the 1983 public plan for cost accounting. The recent evolution of analytical accounting in the Spanish public sector has abandoned the collection of costs directly from the budget documentation. For all of this, the references which in Royal Decree 324/1986 were made to the analytical accounts and to the budget offices of the ministerial departments as accounting offices in which I know, have been deleted in this Royal Decree. the cost operations were recorded.

Neither is included in the present Royal Decree, as was done in Royal Decree 324/1986, no reference to the centralization of the powers for the ordination of payments in the Directorate General of the Treasury and Financial Policy, since these powers are expressly set out in Article 75 of the recast text of the General Budget Law.

In its virtue, on the proposal of the Minister of Finance, in agreement with the Council of State and after deliberation of the Council of Ministers at its meeting of June 1, 2001,

D I S P O N G O:

Article 1. Scope of application.

This Royal Decree shall apply to the General Administration of the State, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 4 (1) (b).

Article 2. Finances of the accounting information system.

The system of accounting information of the General Administration of the State, the object of which will be to record all operations of a budgetary, economic, financial and patrimonial nature that occur in its field, will be adapted to the following purposes:

1. Management purposes:

a) Providing financial and financial information useful for decision making.

b) Show the execution of the State Budget, highlighting the budgetary results.

c) Highlighting the movements and situation of the Public Treasury.

d) Establish the Balance of the General Administration of the State, highlighting the composition and status of its Heritage as well as its variations, and determine the results of the General Administration of the State from the economic point of view.

e) to enable the inventory and control of the fixed assets, the control of the indebtedness and the monitoring of the third parties that relate to the General Administration of the State.

2. Control purposes:

(a) Provide the necessary data for the formation of the Account of the General Administration of the State, which must be given to the Court of Auditors, as well as information for the formation of the General Account of the General government, member of the General Account of the State.

b) Provide information for the exercise of legality and financial and effectiveness controls.

3. Purpose of analysis and disclosure:

a) Facilitating data and background necessary for the preparation of the economic accounts of the Public Sector and the National Accounts of Spain.

b) Provide information to enable analysis of the economic effects of the activity developed by the General Administration of the State.

c) Provide useful information for other recipients.

Article 3. Principles of the accounting information system.

The accounting information system of the General Administration of the State shall conform to the following principles:

1. Implementation of the General Plan of Public Accounting, supporting this Plan, as well as other accounting areas that allow for obtaining the information referred to in the previous article.

2. Guidance towards a centralised accounting model in accordance with the criteria set out in the General Public Accounting Plan.

3. Simplification of the accounting-administrative procedures through the processing of data and the archiving and preservation of information by electronic, computer or telematic means.

4. Security of operation of the system ensuring the consistency of the information obtained, both aggregated and detailed, as well as the restriction of persons authorised for use and access to data.

Article 4. Accounting organization.

1. The transactions to be settled in the accounting information system of the General Administration of the State shall be recorded by one of the following accounting offices:

a) Central Accounting.

b) Accounting offices of the Interventions Delegated to the Ministry of Civil Services.

In particular, the accounting record of the implementation of the budgetary appropriations of the General Budget of the State corresponding to the Sections of the House of his Majesty the King, of the General Courts, of the Court of The accounts, the Constitutional Court, the Council of State and the General Council of the Judiciary will be carried out by the Office of Accounting for the Intervention Delegate in the Ministry of Economy.

c) General Accounting Subdirectorate of the Ministry of Defense.

d) Accounting Office of the Delegation in the Directorate General of the Treasury and Financial Policy.

e) Accounting offices of the Economic and Finance Delegations ' Interventions.

2. For the exercise of the tasks of the Central Accountable referred to in paragraph 1 (a) above, as well as for the design, accounting planning and analysis of data, the organs of the General Intervention of the State Administration which according to the provisions in force are assigned to these powers, acting as the Central Accounting Office.

Single repeal provision. Regulatory repeal.

Any rules of equal or lower rank that are contrary to the provisions of this Royal Decree are repealed and, in particular, the Royal Decree 324/1986, of 10 February, is repealed, whereby it is implanted in the General Administration of the State a new accounting information system and the payment ordering function is restructured.

Final disposition first. Development of this Royal Decree.

The Minister of Finance, on the proposal of the General Intervention of the State Administration, will develop the rules contained in this Royal Decree and, in particular, the powers that correspond to each of the Accounting offices referred to in Article 4.1 of this Royal Decree.

Final disposition second. Entry into force.

This Royal Decree will enter into force the day after its publication in the "Official State Gazette".

Given in Madrid on June 1, 2001.

JOHN CARLOS R.

The Minister of Finance,

CRISTOBAL MONTORO ROMERO