REGINA – Saskatchewan’s auditor has issued a first ever adverse audit opinion on the government’s general revenue fund, citing “pervasive” accounting errors.
Acting auditor Judy Ferguson tabled her first report in the legislature Wednesday.
“The adverse opinion, what it’s telling you is that the information that’s included within the general revenue fund financial statements, that … there are so many errors it’s too hard for the general person to make the adjustments, to figure out what the right information is,” Ferguson said at a news conference.
She said an adverse audit opinion has never been issued before in Saskatchewan.
The auditor said the government isn’t following Canadian generally accepted accounting principles. She said, if it had, the general revenue fund would show an annual deficit of $590 million instead of the government’s reported $58-million surplus.
Ferguson said the government didn’t include pension-related debt or long-term debt funding for things such as schools in its general revenue fund statements. She said the government also inappropriately counted transfers from its rainy-day fund as revenue and recorded funding for capital projects as assets instead of expenses.
“I think really from a public (perspective), you should expect to receive accurate and reliable financial statements and accurate and reliable financial information from the government,” she said.
“And so what we’re saying in this case – these statements aren’t reliable.”
The province has been repeatedly criticized by the auditor for using two sets of financial books: one on the general fund and another summary statement, which several provincial auditors have said more accurately cover all areas of government.
“The GRF can be a management tool, but it shouldn’t be something that’s front and centre that the government focuses on,” said Ferguson.
“You know, it’s just one little piece, albeit their biggest bank account. But it’s like, if you looked at your net worth, would you look at just part of what you’re doing?”
The auditor’s report also raised concerns about regulations for landfills.
The report said the Ministry of Environment needs to set standards for landfill design and ensure landfills are built according to those standards. It also said the ministry needs to more actively monitor landfills with more frequent inspections.
Four out of five landfill constructions or expansions that the auditor’s office tested “lacked documentation” to show that they were built according to plans.
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