INDUSTRY FIELD GUIDE
Public finance obligation, outlay and reporting basis data for AI
An obligation and an outlay describe different stages of federal spending.
NAICS 921130 · Public Finance Activities
An obligation and an outlay describe different stages of federal spending. USAspending explains how its data represents those stages. A public finance office can create a reconciliation exercise that shows why a model should keep the source definitions and reporting period attached. USAspending Federal Spending Guide
Invent an award with an obligation, a downward adjustment and an outlay recorded in a later period. Ask for the supported totals by metric and period. Include one transaction that belongs to a separate award, and require the reviewer to verify the exclusion.
Use invented amounts or a documented public release. Keep bank details, taxpayer records, unannounced spending and internal budget work out. Preserve the publication date and data dictionary with any authorized public extract.
Describe a fictional spending records sample
Original Fiund exercise
A spending adjustment and a later outlay belong to different metrics
A synthetic award ledger uses abstract spending units and periods. It makes no budget, investment, payment or real award decision.
| Record | Source | What it records |
|---|---|---|
| PF1 | Award A period P1 | Obligation +100 units, followed by authorized downward obligation adjustment −20. No P1 outlay recorded. |
| PF2 | Award A period P2 | Outlay 30 units. No P2 obligation change supplied. |
| PF3 | Separate award B | P1 obligation +50 units. No relation makes B part of award A. |
Question for the model
What obligation and outlay totals are supported for award A by period, and should the outlay or award B be added to A's obligation?
Show the reference answer and checks
PF1 supports a net P1 obligation of 80 units for A after the 100 minus 20 adjustment, with no recorded P1 outlay. PF2 separately records a P2 outlay of 30, not a new obligation. PF3 concerns B and must be excluded from A. Keep metric and period totals distinct rather than reporting 110 as A's obligation or merging another award's transaction into its ledger.
- Adding outlays to obligations as if they were the same spending stage.
- Ignoring the downward adjustment or including a separate award from the same period.
Fields to preserve
- Award and transaction identity
- Defines the ledger boundary.
- Metric type and signed adjustment
- Makes net obligations distinct from outlays.
- Reporting period
- Preserves when each spending stage was recorded.
Test another case
Add a P2 reversal of part of the outlay, explicitly labeled as an outlay adjustment. Require the model to net that metric without altering P1 obligations.
Use invented amounts and records. Exclude bank data, taxpayers, unannounced spending and internal budget work.
Discuss a contribution
Describe the sources you control, the task they could support and what has already been checked. Use the existing-data assessment for an archive or the collection brief for a new recording project. The contributor agreement defines Fiund’s licensing authority and compensation. A guide or fictional exercise does not establish an accepted collection or a sale.