To many accountants the idea that welfare agencies would require computerised accounting may seem incongruous. However, Children's Welfare Association of Victoria have found, as a welfare field response to the standardised financial reporting system that they developed during 1981/82, that the need for such a system is clearly established. This mainly resulted from the focus of the reporting system on functional accounting which had not been addressed fully by many welfare agencies prior to the implementation of this system. In 1982 the Victorian State Government expressed a clear commitment to programme budgetting for all Government departments and as the voluntary child welfare field is heavily reliant on Government funding, it is expected that all agencies will need to respond to this commitment as if they were Government organisations. Programme budgetting needs as its base, a clear functional classification of income and expense. Therefore, the need for this form of accounting has become more obvious over the last twelve months.