An accrual is a charge for work that has been done but not yet invoiced, for which provision is made at the end of a financial period..
Australian councils work to a July to June financial year, and whilst accruals apply to all financial periods, there is often a flurry of expenditure towards the end of June which can result in significant numbers of invoices not being received or processed by June 30. Councils' typically have processes in place to ensure this rush of invoices can be dealt with effectively and that all expenditure is recognised in the financial year the works associated with it were delivered.