Whole of Government Accounts (WGA)
Following the introduction of resource based financial management in central government, the UK government is now working towards producing Whole of Government Accounts (WGA). This meets the undertaking in the Code for Fiscal Stability to produce consolidated accounts for the whole public sector on the basis of Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (GAAP).
Publishing audited WGA will improve the transparency of government's finances, and will increase the completeness of public sector financial data by providing information on items not currently included in existing measures of public finance (such as provisions, contingent liabilities and future contract expenditure). In addition, the WGA programme will progressively increase the amount of audited data included directly in the UK National Accounts, for example by replacing statistically modelled depreciation data with actual data.
It has been announced in the 2007 Budget that WGA will be produced on an International Financial Reporting Standards basis for 2008-09. HM Treasury and CIPFA/ LASAAC are currently discussing the implications for local Authorities of this decision.
HM Treasury remain committed to introducing WGA in a way which minimises the burden on all concerned, but still achieves WGA consistent with GAAP. Most of the data they require continues to be the same as the information required for authorities' published accounts, with the only additional requirement to collect information on major transaction streams and balances within the public sector to allow these to be eliminated on consolidation.
Scotland is not governed by the same legislation which has enabled HM Treasury to require Local Authorities in England and Wales, via statutory instrument, to provide WGA data. However, Scottish Ministers have provided an undertaking to HM Treasury to provide the same level of information for Scottish Local Authorities on a voluntary basis.
WGA forms and associated Guidance Notes are available on our downloads page