IFRS qualification warning for government departments
Government departments risk having their accounts qualified if they don't get to grips with IFRS
Major government departments will face having their accounts qualified if
they fail to get to grips with IFRS, according to the former head of financial
reporting at the Treasury.
‘It is a clear possibility that there will be a temporary rise in the number
of qualified audit opinions,’ said Ian Carruthers, CIPFA’s technical expert.
The Treasury is driving central departments towards full adoption of IFRS for
the 2009/2010 year.
IFRS adoption is a year behind schedule after central government departments
including the Ministry of Defence and the Department of Health were tripped up
by how to account for £30bn of privately financed projects.
The Department for Transport also has a number of PFI projects on its books
and a tendering process has begun to find a partner to deliver another £3bn of
PFI work around the Crossrail initiative.