For effective management, the COA should cover all transactions (flows) and balanc- es (stocks) of the reporting entity for budget management and general purpose financial reporting (see Box 2 for the “reporting entity” concept and how it relates to the budgetary sector). Governments produce not only general purpose financial statements, but also other types of fiscal reports. The COA should facilitate (i) the required control features and manage- ment information requirements at different stages of budget execution; and (ii) reporting to various internal and external stakeholders. With an IFMIS, the needs of all stakeholders can be met with one unified or common COA
