In public sector accounting, the primary or catchall fund of a government, government agency, or nonprofit entity such as a university. It is similar to a firm's general ledger account, and records all assets and liabilities of the entity that are not assigned to a special purpose fund. It provides the resources necessary to sustain the day-to-day activities and thus pays for all administrative and operating expenses. When governments or administrators talk about 'balancing the budget' they typically mean balancing the budget for their general fund.

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