This rule makes final a June 30, 1998 proposed rule that proposed to establish for HUD's Public Housing, Section 8 housing, and multifamily insured housing programs uniform annual financial reporting standards. The rule requires public housing agencies and project owners of HUD-assisted housing, which already, under longstanding regulatory and contractual requirements, submit financial information on annual basis to HUD to submit this information electronically to HUD. The rule also requires that the annual financial information to be submitted to HUD must be prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Electronic submission is important in reducing the administrative burden that manual submission presents to housing authorities, project owners, mortgagees and HUD. It is also important in bringing HUD and its program partners up-to-date with modern technology. Reporting in GAAP is important because GAAP accounting is more widely accepted and allows for financial consistency among various entities. The objective of this rule is to standardize the annual financial information submission process and, through standardization, bring consistency and increased fairness to the evaluation of the financial condition of housing assisted under various HUD programs. This final rule takes into consideration public comments received on the June 30, 1998 proposed rule.