BRUCE WILLIAMS
VICTORIA – A lot has happened in the past year, which might explain why one of the biggest news stories of the summer went largely unnoticed.
As British Columbians, we work hard to earn a living. Business owners sacrifice so much to keep the lights on and create jobs for so many of our neighbours and relatives. Leaders of major organizations must make difficult decisions to keep their books in the black. None of us want to risk the consequences of getting called out for questionable financials.
You would think the same scruples apply to our provincial government. However, as Chamber members learned Nov. 10, there was surprisingly little outrage after the independent Office of BC’s Auditor General found serious concerns with the 2022 provincial government summary financial audit.
“It’s unfortunate and should be a big deal,” said BC’s Auditor General Michael Pickup, to a crowd of about 80 community and business leaders at the Hotel Grand Pacific.
Back in August, Pickup’s office issued a news release that stated government financial statements were not accurate and the resulting “qualifications” should not be taken lightly. “Qualifications like the ones in this report represent errors or omissions the auditor considers so significant that, if uncorrected, might mislead a financial statement user. “Irregularities were found with how BC treats payments from other governments and non-government sources, as well as the lack of disclosure of future expenditure agreements, and errors in the accounting of the BC First Nation Gaming Revenue Sharing Agreement.
The message couldn’t have been clearer, and, speaking on behalf of Chamber members, I’m grateful for the chance to hear directly from Auditor General himself.
“That frankness is what I’m hired to do,” Pickup said, noting he works for all British Columbians who should care about the findings. “If we don’t care about three qualifications, might as well have 30.”
Pickup said the number of qualification warnings on the financials was higher than any other Canadian province.
The message was clear. We need to do better at holding our politicians to account, and it’s something The Chamber is committed to doing as we work toward our contribution to the next budget consultation process.
Pickup also had good things to say about the province and his work leading an independent and objective team of auditors. They look at more than just financials also how well policies are being executed but they don’t suggest how policies should be better implemented. For example, BC was the first province to examine how public funds were being spent in response to COVID-19. Those audits found that much of what the province did was done well.
Some of their current work is looking into how $1.5 billion in tourism funding was rolled out, how accurately the province kept track of COVID-19 vaccination rates, how effective the province’s approach to toxic drugs has been, and whether the provincial government has been effective at adding diversity to its workforce.
Who knew the secret world of accounting could be so interesting?
Bruce Williams is CEO of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce
