The Office of the Auditor General of British Columbia presented its report,
The 2014/15 Public Accounts and the Auditor General's Findings, to the Legislative Assembly today.
The audit found that the Summary Financial Statements follow generally accepted accounting principles, with one exception. The Auditor General continues to differ with government on how it records certain federal contributions.
Government's accounting practices mean these revenues were under-reported by $191 million in the last fiscal year; thereby clouding the province's true financial health.
Beyond the 'bottom line', the Summary Financial Statements also tell an interesting story about the year. For example, government signed over $100 billion worth of contracts or projects such as Skytrain construction and ferry services. It also paid $157 million to parents during the teachers' strike last year, just a bit less than it saved in teachers' salaries.
At the end of each fiscal year, government combines the financial results of its organizations, including ministries, Crown corporations, colleges, school districts, universities, health organizations, and other public-sector organizations and produces a consolidated set of Summary Financial Statements.
The Auditor General reports on these Summary Financial Statements, investigating whether they are presented fairly and in accordance with Canadian public sector accounting standards. This is the largest financial audit in British Columbia, taking 65 staff over 45,000 hours to complete, plus work from 25 private CPA firms.
