It is a productivity measure. Effectiveness assess how much of a problem or opportunity was handled. It measures amount or degree of accomplishment. Unlike businesses, governments do not report for the entire unit, but rather for subunits that can be called subentities . The notion of subentity or subunit can also be extended to funds .
Funds are subentities set- up to show the source of money and how the money was spent.
Subunits also include account groups . These are used to keep track of certain long term transactions and events until the transaction or event becomes a current item. One reason for the complex expanse of subentities is the detailed, legal nature of government. Another reason is the pressure of interest groups to have governmental action protected or ear marked by giving those actions special status. Thus, a municipality can have recreation authority which it controls financially and have separate financial statements with funds and accounts for that recreation authority.