Audit of BC government's finances finds $6B disagreement, $550M in errors

An audit of the BC government’s finances has identified a $6 billion disagreement.

The Office of the Auditor General said it disagreed with the government’s presentation of the province’s financial accounts.

"The reason for this disagreement is that the summary financial statements are not presented using public sector generally accepted accounting principles," said Michael Pickup, the auditor general.

"It is important for government to record revenue according to these principles to create consistency in financial reporting and allow the financial statements of the province to be more easily compared with most other Canadian jurisdictions.

“By under-reporting revenues by $6 billion, the government's summary financial statements do not give a clear picture of the province's financial position."

The office also found errors in its audit that had a $550 million deficit impact.

Those errors, found in the government’s summary financial statements, required fixing and – without the audit – would have “significantly” affected the financial statements, the office explained.

The report, which is available here, looks at the implementation of COVID-19 programs in the province.

It also discusses the accounting for the $850 million sale of St. Paul’s Hospital, the writing-off of $66 million for personal protective equipment and the executive salary freeze for Crown organizations.