Two series on federal government expenditures

The FRED graph above shows two data series on federal government expenditures reported by two different sources: the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (solid blue line) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Fiscal Service (dark orange dashed line). Both have similar values but they aren't identical. Why is that?

In addition to having different titles (expenditures vs. outlays), these two data series differ in their frequency, units, seasonal adjustment, and reporting methodology. Many of these differences are accounted for in the metadata FRED provides in the notes under the graph.

In brief, these differences are as follows:

• The BEA reports Federal Government: Current Expenditures as part of its quarterly Government Receipts and Expendituresdata release, which includes the value of gross investment in equipment on a delivery basis and compensation on an accrual basis. Units are billions of dollars, adjusted for seasonal patterns in spending, calculated at an annual rate.
• The Treasury reports Total Federal Outlays as part of its Monthly Treasury Statement, which includes cash flows to fund the operation of different departments and agencies. Units are millions of dollars, unadjusted for seasonal patterns in spending. (The FRED graph uses billions of dollars on an annual basis to make the two series comparable.)

In conclusion, read the "Notes" section under the FRED graph to better tell the story behind the numbers.

How this graph was created: Search FRED for "Federal Government: Current Expenditures." Next, click on the "Edit Graph" button and select the "Add Line" tab. Search for "Total Federal Outlays" and click on "Add data series." Customize the data in Line 2 by typing the formula (a/1000)*12 and click on "Apply Formula."

Suggested by Diego Mendez-Carbajo.