In the private sector this problem doesn't exist. They don't focus on estimates on a cash basis. But I do want to caution you, going back to something I said earlier, that financial reporting on an accrual basis of accounting by itself probably doesn't give you enough information. You'd need to have good cash management practices in an enterprise. But that's private sector.
In the public sector, have any jurisdictions been able to do this? A few. I don't want to portray a picture of it being simple to do, but New Zealand, about 20 years ago, was a jurisdiction that was near bankruptcy. They went through a whole reform program, and this was part of that reform program.
It's amazing what you find when you look at history and you research what actually happened. You find that when you're really down to having to survive, you come up with new mechanisms that help you with that survival. And it's easier to do it then; otherwise, you're not going to be able to survive.
Given the lack of crisis that, say, New Zealand had about 20 or 25 years ago, the energy won't be there to say, yes, now we're going to try to survive. New Zealand didn't find it difficult. They found it extremely useful. They became very successful. They made some very significant decisions on what the future was going to be.
So that's a good example of a jurisdiction that has applied it successfully. Australia is the other country that has applied it successfully, and with good results.
That said, I know that a number of jurisdictions in particularly the European Union, such as the United Kingdom and France, are insistent that for estimates, the cash basis is the only basis on which they can do it. Then they go through the reconciliations to be able to provide transparency and accountability. But I don't think it is as good as the New Zealand and Australian models.
Within Canada itself, British Columbia as a province has gone completely to the accrual basis for everything. My understanding is that at the moment, the Province of Manitoba is contemplating it. I don't know that they've made a decision, but they are certainly considering it.