Whole of Government Accounts

Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) is a transparency and accountability project of HM Treasury of the United Kingdom. It aims to provide more complete data for fiscal planning by producing consolidated financial statements. The accounts are independently audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General.^[1]

Background

The Treasury first published a scoping study for WGA in July 1998. The first set of accounts to be published will be for the year ended 31 March 2010. WGA are prepared under Sections 9 to 11 of the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000. WGA are prepared for the whole of the UK public sector (central government, local government, health, and public corporations).^[1] WGA are prepared under International Financial Reporting Standards.^[2]

Results for FY 2010

The Whole of Governments Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2010 was published on 29 November 2011. It is the first ever set of audited financial statements for the UK public sector. The 2009-10 WGA brings together, for the first time, audited financial information from the UK’s central government, local government, the National Health Service (NHS) and public corporations. It makes clear a number of metrics that previously had been difficult to calculate, such as the net public service pension liability, the Government’s commitments under private finance initiative (PFI) contracts, total provisions, and contingent liabilities. In particular, the account includes:

• consolidated Statement of Revenue and Expenditure;
• consolidated Statement of Financial Position, showing public sector assets and liabilities;
• consolidated Cash Flow Statement; and
• a Statement on Internal Control.

As this is the first year in which WGA is published, there is no historical data for comparison. Over time, annual publications of WGA will allow the user to build up a clear and consistent picture of trends and changes in the Government’s fiscal position. WGA also allows for international comparisons of fiscal balance sheets to be made, provided that other countries’ accounts are produced on a comparable basis.

The accounts are available on the UK's Treasury website: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/wga.

Audit Report

The Whole of Government Accounts are subject to audit by the Comptroller & Auditor General (C&AG).

The C&AG audited the 2009-10 WGA and concluded: "In my opinion, except for the effects of the matters described in the Basis for Qualified Opinion paragraphs above:

• the financial statements give a true and fair view of the state of the affairs of the Whole of Government as at 31 March 2010 and of its net deficit, changes in taxpayers’ equity and cash flows for the year then ended; and
• the financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000.”

The C&AG report on the 2009-10 WGA is available on the National Audit Office's website: http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/1012/wga_2009-10.aspx.

See also

• National Audit Office (UK)

References

External links

• HM Treasury - Whole of Government Accounts
• List of bodies to which WGA applies (2009 Designation Order)
• ACCA Report on WGA implementation
• Atkinson Report on Government Output and Productivity