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Over successive governments, Chile had built a strong reputation for fiscal discipline, secured partially through accrual-accounting practices. But recent social unrest and the COVID-19 pandemic had put pressure on the government to relax longstanding rules on spending restraint, notably the country's 'structural balance rule'. Finance Minister Ignacio Briones needed to determine how to finance a substantial new COVID-relief package while ensuring the country remained able to respond to future emergencies and without undermining the country's already weakening commitment to fiscal responsibility. Diving into this setting, the case study allows students to explore both the practice and the politics of government accounting and finance. This case has been made available free of charge.