Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 18 October 2018
Public Accounts Committee
2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Vote 11 - Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 2 - Collection of Pension Contributions due to the Exchequer
Chapter 3 - Control of Funding for Voted Public Services
Chapter 5 - Vote Accounting and Budget Management
Vote 11 - Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform
Vote 12 - Superannuation and Retired Allowances
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report 95: Financial Reporting in the Public Sector
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report 99: Public Sector Financial Reporting for 2015
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report 100: Public Sector Financial Reporting for 2016
9:00 am
Mr. Robert Watt:
At present the accounts are presented on a cash basis and a part-accrual basis and one can see various statements where partial balance sheets are provided. If we move to a fully integrated balance sheet, that is, a full accrual system, it would be particularly important that we would have very clear rules in terms of valuations of assets and the depreciation of those assets because the depreciation item will become a significant issue. This comes back to the question that Deputy Connolly asked about capital versus leases. The cost of a lease is very clear and transparent on our accounts because the cash goes out, but the capital asset, the value and treatment of the asset and who pays for the asset is treated differently because it is cash. That is the reason there is a challenge within public accounting, which has not moved fully to accrual accounting, when it comes to how we manage assets.