This report offers insights into the controversial practice of accrual budgeting, a budgetary practice common in developed nations, but which has only recently begun to be utilized in developing nations. In the absence of practical guidelines and reference materials for this relatively new procedure, this work draws on lessons learned by the Asian Development Bank in working with countries to improve their financial management and suggests a measured approach to gradually improving governmental accounting arrangements. By doing so, nations are encouraged to chart a step-by-step course from a cash accounting standard to eventual adoption of accrual accounting practices.