Auditor General Casts Doubt On Bc S Books Says Surplus Was 6.5 Billion Higher Bc News

Photo: The Canadian Press British Columbia’s auditor general has cast doubt on the accuracy of the province’s public accounts, saying the $1.3 billion surplus the government announced this week should have been about six times larger. The audit firm says in a press release that its qualified opinion is “unusual and should not be taken seriously.” Auditor General Michael Pickup’s office says there were three deviations from generally accepted accounting principles in the books released Tuesday, including how BC records payments from other governments and non-government sources. It says if the financial statements followed Canadian Public Sector Accounting Standards, the 2021-2022 surplus would be $6.48 billion higher and liabilities would be lower by the same amount. The bureau says a second problem meant there were incomplete disclosures of future costs, resulting in an understatement of contractual obligations of $708 million in 2023 and $315 million in 2024. The third issue relates to the BC First Nations Gaming Revenue Sharing agreement, resulting in what the auditor’s office says is a $91 million understatement of both revenue and expenses from the agreement. Pickup says in the press release that the government’s accounting method for the gambling deal “lacks transparency.” “It doesn’t accurately reflect how they’ve structured the deal and the underlying transaction,” says Pickup. Pickup’s office has had long-standing concerns with the way BC does its books, particularly the way funding for capital projects is reflected.

title: “Auditor General Casts Doubt On Bc S Books Says Surplus Was 6.5 Billion Higher Bc News Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-03” author: “Larry Bridgette”

Photo: The Canadian Press British Columbia’s auditor general has cast doubt on the accuracy of the province’s public accounts, saying the $1.3 billion surplus the government announced this week should have been about six times larger. The audit firm says in a press release that its qualified opinion is “unusual and should not be taken seriously.” Auditor General Michael Pickup’s office says there were three deviations from generally accepted accounting principles in the books released Tuesday, including how BC records payments from other governments and non-government sources. It says if the financial statements followed Canadian Public Sector Accounting Standards, the 2021-2022 surplus would be $6.48 billion higher and liabilities would be lower by the same amount. The bureau says a second problem meant there were incomplete disclosures of future costs, resulting in an understatement of contractual obligations of $708 million in 2023 and $315 million in 2024. The third issue relates to the BC First Nations Gaming Revenue Sharing agreement, resulting in what the auditor’s office says is a $91 million understatement of both revenue and expenses from the agreement. Pickup says in the press release that the government’s accounting method for the gambling deal “lacks transparency.” “It doesn’t accurately reflect how they’ve structured the deal and the underlying transaction,” says Pickup. Pickup’s office has had long-standing concerns with the way BC does its books, particularly the way funding for capital projects is reflected.

title: “Auditor General Casts Doubt On Bc S Books Says Surplus Was 6.5 Billion Higher Bc News Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-06” author: “Sal Goodwin”

Photo: The Canadian Press British Columbia’s auditor general has cast doubt on the accuracy of the province’s public accounts, saying the $1.3 billion surplus the government announced this week should have been about six times larger. The audit firm says in a press release that its qualified opinion is “unusual and should not be taken seriously.” Auditor General Michael Pickup’s office says there were three deviations from generally accepted accounting principles in the books released Tuesday, including how BC records payments from other governments and non-government sources. It says if the financial statements followed Canadian Public Sector Accounting Standards, the 2021-2022 surplus would be $6.48 billion higher and liabilities would be lower by the same amount. The bureau says a second problem meant there were incomplete disclosures of future costs, resulting in an understatement of contractual obligations of $708 million in 2023 and $315 million in 2024. The third issue relates to the BC First Nations Gaming Revenue Sharing agreement, resulting in what the auditor’s office says is a $91 million understatement of both revenue and expenses from the agreement. Pickup says in the press release that the government’s accounting method for the gambling deal “lacks transparency.” “It doesn’t accurately reflect how they’ve structured the deal and the underlying transaction,” says Pickup. Pickup’s office has had long-standing concerns with the way BC does its books, particularly the way funding for capital projects is reflected.

title: “Auditor General Casts Doubt On Bc S Books Says Surplus Was 6.5 Billion Higher Bc News Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-26” author: “Veronica Peoples”

Photo: The Canadian Press British Columbia’s auditor general has cast doubt on the accuracy of the province’s public accounts, saying the $1.3 billion surplus the government announced this week should have been about six times larger. The audit firm says in a press release that its qualified opinion is “unusual and should not be taken seriously.” Auditor General Michael Pickup’s office says there were three deviations from generally accepted accounting principles in the books released Tuesday, including how BC records payments from other governments and non-government sources. It says if the financial statements followed Canadian Public Sector Accounting Standards, the 2021-2022 surplus would be $6.48 billion higher and liabilities would be lower by the same amount. The bureau says a second problem meant there were incomplete disclosures of future costs, resulting in an understatement of contractual obligations of $708 million in 2023 and $315 million in 2024. The third issue relates to the BC First Nations Gaming Revenue Sharing agreement, resulting in what the auditor’s office says is a $91 million understatement of both revenue and expenses from the agreement. Pickup says in the press release that the government’s accounting method for the gambling deal “lacks transparency.” “It doesn’t accurately reflect how they’ve structured the deal and the underlying transaction,” says Pickup. Pickup’s office has had long-standing concerns with the way BC does its books, particularly the way funding for capital projects is reflected.