MPs want PFIs included in IFRS government reporting
09 Mar 2010, Our Parliamentary Correspondent, AccountancyAge
http://www.accountancyage.com/aa/news/1808547/mps-pfis-included-ifrs-government-reporting
MPs are demanding the Treasury publish Public Sector Net Debt statistics - calculated according to International Financial Reporting Standards taking PFI contracts into account.
The demand is in a report from the Commons Treasury committee which repeated the concern of MPs that although departmental accounts will be prepared under IFRS, the PFI figures "will not appear in the calculation of net debt in the Whole of Government Accounts".
The committee said: "Future pre-budget and budget reports should include a reconciliation between public sector net debt calculated on a national accounts basis and the same figure calculated using the IFRS principles which apply to departmental accounts."
The report said Treasury ministers had told the committee that the revised timetable for preparing public sector accounts for 2009-10 - which previously slipped from 2008-09 - remains "important".
It said ministers had also reassured the committee the government remains on track to publish WGA for the first time in July this year for the 2009-10 financial year.
Accountancy Age revealed last September that around £32bn of debt would be kept off the government's externally reported figures.
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Visitor comments
July 2010 really ?
WGA for 2009-10 by July 2010, now that would be some going given a year end of March 2010.
I won't hold my breath. With a history of delays, an enormous consolidation exercise, the implementation of IFRS and the possibility of a new party in government delaying the figures for review; I can only see this deadline being missed.
My money is on this time next year for IFRS compliant WGA and as well as PFI debt figures it will be interesting to see whether WGA debt contains full pension obligation figures too.
Posted by: Nick Topazio, Chartered Institute of Management Accountants , 09 Mar 2010 | 00:00