ACCOUNTANTS’ PLEA FOR MORE CLARITY IN PUBLIC ACCOUNTS

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 October 1948, Page 8

ACCOUNTANTS’ PLEA FOR MORE CLARITY IN PUBLIC ACCOUNTS

A plea for uniformity in. the. presentation of the Public. Accounts is made in the latest issue of the Accountants’ Journal, which says that the object of the, accounts should be to give the maximum information in the clearest, possible way. “As the Public Accounts, show the expenditure of Bs. in ..every £1 of New Zealanders’ net.private income,, these principles, are, clearly of vital importance to everyone,” says the journal. “In several respects, the Public Accounts for 1947-48 are neither clear nor consistent. Owing to delays in Wellington and Hamilton, £3.3 millions- in income, tax wag shown in the Budget as uncollected at. March 31. Post' and Telegraph Department profits of £2,108,000 should have been brought into the Consolidated Fund, but the transfer was not made. Amounts totalling £797,000 were charged during the year for items not paid for at. March 31, and at least £510,000 of this .figure represented stores not received. This last item, quoted in the Auditor-General’s report, reveals a major violation of established accounting procedures. “For the year 1947-48 no payments of interest on capital were made by these accounts: Working Railways, State Forests, State Coalmines, and Iron and Steel Industry; while three other accounts paid only part pf their; interest charge. Here is a clear inconsistency which no business accountant could tolerate in. his .own firm. While interest at 4 per cent, is charged against most accounts,, the Housing Account,.bears interest at only U per cent. There is no obvious reason for the difference, except to minimise the subsidy being paid by taxpayers to all State tenants. “The English: Companies Act, 1947 requires all holding companies to pre-, ■sent consolidated ..accounts to their members, because a single all-em-, bracing account is the only one which gives a complete overall picture of operations. For many years the lack of such an overall picture has obscured the accounts of many companies, and the same lack has obscured the total activities of. the New eZaland Government. This is the most serious failing of the Public Accounts, and the publication of a consolidated receipts and payments account would provide one of the reforms now badly needed.”