Finance Minister Edward Scicluna has been presented with a study outlining the changes needed for a transition to accrual reporting in public sector accounting.
Accrual reporting means that revenue is included in accounts only when it materialises, while expenditure is included when the commitment is made.
Most government reporting is still done on a cash basis, which means expenditure commitments are not included but recorded only when payment is issued.
This allows the Government to postpone payments to the next year, enabling it to doctor accounts and show a lower expenditure in the reporting year.
Prof. Scicluna discussed a transition to accrual reporting with Ian Carruthers, a member of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board and accountant general Noel Camilleri.