Introduction
The WGA is a unique document which provides the most complete and accurate picture available of the UK public sector finances. The WGA is a set of financial statements prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), which brings together information on the financial performance and position of over 7,000 organisations across the UK public sector. In 2016–17, the WGA included net expenditure (total expenditure less income) of £98 billion and net liabilities (the difference between assets and liabilities) of £2.4 trillion. The Treasury published WGA 2016–17 on 28 June 2018, 15 months after the end of the financial year. The Comptroller & Auditor General again qualified his opinion on the 2016–17 accounts. The reasons for this included: the omission of some significant bodies from the accounts, including the Royal Bank of Scotland; inconsistent accounting policies across the organisations included in the WGA; qualifications owing to issues in the underlying accounts of organisations included in the WGA, including the Ministry of Defence and the academy school sector; and the impact of academy schools having a different financial year to the rest of government. The Committee has previously recommended that the Treasury: produce the WGA more quickly; make the accounts more useful and transparent; make the most of the value of government’s assets; and be proactive in reducing the cost of its liabilities, such as those relating to clinical negligence.
Published: 25 January 2019