Because gold prices move continuously on global exchanges, central banks must implement clear accounting policies to revalue their gold reserves on institutional balance sheets.

Most modern central banks use a Fair Value Accounting Framework, revaluing their gold holdings at the end of each financial period based on the prevailing market price. The resulting valuation gains or losses are not routed into the bank’s net income statement, as doing so would distort profit metrics. Instead, the entries clear through a specialized equity account on the liability side of the balance sheet, known as a Gold Revaluation Account, insulating the bank’s operational budget from commodity market swings.