---
title: "日本 公益法人会計基準 — the accounting standard for public-interest corporations"
aliases:
  - "non-profit/japan-koeki-houjin-accounting-standard"
  - "japan-koeki-houjin-accounting-standard"
  - "公益法人会計基準"
  - "こうえきほうじんかいけいきじゅん"
  - "koeki houjin kaikei kijun"
  - "japan public interest corporation accounting standard"
  - "正味財産増減計算書"
domain: non-profit
slug: japan-koeki-houjin-accounting-standard
created: 2026-06-05
last_updated: 2026-06-05
last_tended: 2026-06-05
review_by: 2027-06-05
confidence: likely
tags: [non-profit, japan, accounting, koeki-houjin, public-interest, disclosure]
status: active
sources:
  - "https://www.koeki-info.go.jp/"
  - "https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/418AC0000000049"
  - "https://www.moj.go.jp/MINJI/koeki1.html"
  - "https://www.nta.go.jp/taxes/shiraberu/taxanswer/hojin/5275.htm"
---

# 日本 公益法人会計基準 — the accounting standard for public-interest corporations

## Wiki route

This entry sits under [[non-profit/INDEX|non-profit INDEX]] as the **accounting / disclosure layer** beneath the legal forms — it is what a 公益財団 / 公益社団 actually files, so it is the natural companion to [[non-profit/japan-koeki-vs-general-zaidan-comparison|公益財団 vs 一般財団 vs 一般社団 vs NPO法人 comparison]] (which forms must report) and to [[non-profit/japan-general-foundation-establishment-requirements|Japan 一般財団法人 establishment requirements]] (who audits). The external-audit angle ties to [[financial-regulators/cpaaob|the CPAAOB]] (the body overseeing the CPA profession that audits large 公益法人); for the supervisory map see [[financial-regulators/INDEX|financial-regulators INDEX]].

## TL;DR

The **公益法人会計基準** is the **fund-accounting-flavoured** financial-reporting standard for public-interest corporations, maintained in the 公益認定法 framework (current baseline: the **平成20年 (2008) standard**, revised 2021). Its signature features are the **正味財産増減計算書 (Statement of Changes in Net Assets)** instead of a profit-and-loss statement, a **正味財産 split into 指定正味財産 / 一般正味財産**, and reporting **by 公益目的事業会計 / 収益事業等会計 / 法人会計** segments — all designed to *prove restricted money was spent on its restricted purpose*, which is exactly what 公益認定 supervision needs.

## Why a special standard exists

A for-profit company reports **profit**. A public-interest corporation has no profit motive; the questions its accounts must answer are different:

- Was **restricted (donor-designated) money** spent only on its designated purpose?
- Did the corporation meet the **50%-expenditure (公益目的事業比率)** and other 認定基準 financial tests?
- Are **net assets** within the 認定基準 retention limits (the 遊休財産額 cap)?

So the standard is **net-asset-and-restriction-centric**, not income-centric. This is the accounting expression of the supervisory logic in [[non-profit/japan-koeki-vs-general-zaidan-comparison|the cross-form comparison]].

## Core statements

| Statement | Japanese | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Balance sheet | 貸借対照表 | Assets, liabilities, and **正味財産** |
| Statement of changes in net assets | **正味財産増減計算書** | Replaces P&L; shows increases/decreases in net assets by category |
| Cash-flow statement | キャッシュ・フロー計算書 | Required for larger corporations |
| Notes & 附属明細書 | 注記・財産目録 等 | Detailed schedules incl. 財産目録 (inventory of property) |

The **正味財産増減計算書** is the heart of the standard — instead of "revenue − expense = profit", it reports how 正味財産 moved, segmented so restricted and unrestricted flows are visible.

## The 指定 / 一般 正味財産 split

| Net-asset class | Meaning |
|---|---|
| **指定正味財産 (restricted)** | Assets received with a donor/grantor restriction on use or timing |
| **一般正味財産 (unrestricted/general)** | Everything else |

When a restriction is satisfied, value is **reclassified from 指定 to 一般** — the same restricted-fund-release idea used in non-profit accounting worldwide. This split is what lets a supervisor confirm restricted gifts were used as designated, and it is absent from ordinary corporate accounting.

## Segment accounting — 区分経理

Public-interest corporations report across **three accounting segments**:

| Segment | What it captures |
|---|---|
| **公益目的事業会計** | The public-interest activities (the tax-favoured core) |
| **収益事業等会計** | Collateral profit-making / 共益 business |
| **法人会計** | General corporate overhead |

This **区分経理 (segregated accounting)** is mandatory because the **corporation-tax line and the 公益認定 financial tests both depend on isolating 公益目的事業 from 収益事業** — linking the accounting standard directly to the tax posture described in [[non-profit/japan-nintei-npo-houjin-tax-benefits|Japan 認定NPO法人 tax benefits]] and the 公益法人等 corporation-tax rules.

## Audit and who applies the standard

- **All 公益財団 / 公益社団** apply the standard and file annually with the **公益認定等委員会 (Cabinet Office / Prefecture)**.
- **一般財団 / 一般社団** commonly adopt it voluntarily (it is the de facto standard for the sector), and **大規模法人** (liabilities ≥ ¥200bn) must appoint a **会計監査人 (CPA / audit firm)**.
- Where a 会計監査人 audit is required, the auditing CPAs sit under the profession overseen by [[financial-regulators/cpaaob|the CPAAOB]] — connecting non-profit reporting to the wider audit-quality regime.

The audit-threshold and organ requirements are detailed in [[non-profit/japan-general-foundation-establishment-requirements|Japan 一般財団法人 establishment requirements]].

## How it differs from for-profit and NPO accounting

- **vs 企業会計 (corporate GAAP)** — no profit statement; 正味財産増減計算書 + restricted/unrestricted net-asset split + 区分経理 replace the income-statement-centric model.
- **vs NPO法人会計基準** — NPOs follow a *separate, lighter* **NPO法人会計基準** (a sector standard built for small civic bodies with 活動計算書), not the 公益法人会計基準; the two coexist for the two statute families, paralleling the form split in [[non-profit/japan-npo-houjin-overview|Japan NPO法人 overview]].
- **vs 学校法人会計基準 / 社会福祉法人会計基準** — the welfare and education forms each have their **own sector accounting standards** under their own statutes; 公益法人会計基準 governs the 一般法人法 / 公益認定法 family specifically.

## Strategic reading

- The standard is best read as **supervision-as-accounting**: every distinctive feature (正味財産増減計算書, 指定/一般 split, 区分経理) exists to make the 公益認定 financial tests and the corporation-tax boundary *auditable*.
- Anyone modelling a 公益財団's finances must think in **net-asset movement and restricted-fund release**, not profit — and must keep the 公益目的事業 / 収益事業 / 法人 segments separate from day one, because the tax and 認定 tests both read off those segments.
- The Japanese non-profit space is **multi-standard** (公益法人 / NPO / 学校法人 / 社会福祉法人 each have their own), so "non-profit accounting in Japan" is never a single rulebook — match the standard to the legal form via [[non-profit/japan-koeki-vs-general-zaidan-comparison|the comparison page]].

## Related

- [[non-profit/INDEX|non-profit INDEX]]
- [[non-profit/japan-koeki-vs-general-zaidan-comparison|公益財団 vs 一般財団 vs 一般社団 vs NPO法人 comparison]]
- [[non-profit/japan-general-foundation-establishment-requirements|Japan 一般財団法人 establishment requirements]]
- [[non-profit/japan-npo-houjin-overview|Japan NPO法人 overview]]
- [[financial-regulators/cpaaob|CPAAOB]]
- [[INDEX|FinWiki index]]

## Sources

- 公益法人 information site (Cabinet Office) — 会計基準・FAQ: https://www.koeki-info.go.jp/
- e-Gov 法令検索 — 公益社団法人及び公益財団法人の認定等に関する法律: https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/418AC0000000049
- 法務省 — 公益法人制度: https://www.moj.go.jp/MINJI/koeki1.html
- 国税庁 No.5275 — 公益法人等課税: https://www.nta.go.jp/taxes/shiraberu/taxanswer/hojin/5275.htm

> [!info] 校核状態
> confidence: likely. The existence and purpose of the 公益法人会計基準, the 正味財産増減計算書, the 指定/一般正味財産 distinction, 区分経理 into 公益目的事業/収益事業等/法人 segments, and the multi-standard landscape (separate NPO/学校法人/社会福祉法人 standards) are public and stable. The precise current revision year and exact 大規模法人 audit thresholds should be confirmed against the current Cabinet Office 公益法人 information-site text for a specific filing.