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Introduction to Whole of Government Accounts

Following the introduction of resource based financial management in departments, the Government is now working towards producing Whole of Government Accounts (WGA). This will assist in ensuring that best practice accounting methods are used to construct accounts covering the public sector as a whole, and that fiscal reporting is as transparent as possible. These outcomes are consistent with the Code for Fiscal Stability.

What are “Whole of Government Accounts”?

WGA will be commercial-style accounts covering the whole of the public sector. Like departmental resource accounts, WGA will be produced on an accruals basis and will use generally accepted accounting principles, adapted where necessary for government. Government will be treated as if it were a single entity by eliminating all significant transactions between public sector entities.

Why do we need WGA?

WGA will provide better quality and more transparent information to assist with the development of fiscal policy, to facilitate better management of public services and to assist with the more effective distribution of resources. In particular, WGA will provide audited data to underpin the operation of the Golden Rule, and allow the public sector balance sheet to be used in fiscal management. Preparing WGA will meet the commitment in the Code for Fiscal Stability to produce accounts for the whole public sector on a consolidated basis.

What will the benefits be?

Preparing WGA will require convergence of the various sets of accounting guidance covering public sector bodies. This will enhance comparability of performance information, increasing the ability of individual bodies to benchmark their own performance against that of others. It will also enable targets to be set and measured on a consistent basis, both internally within the body and between bodies.

The overview of the public sector finances provided by WGA will also improve government's accountability to Parliament and taxpayers, and form an important element in the Modernising Government agenda.

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WGA - Improving Government information through joined-up reporting

The Whole of Government Accounts Programme is a part of the
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