Government Operations committee  Page 10. I would like to talk briefly about the consultant's study. The consultant study was conducted last year and was tabled with us on March 31. We've been looking at it to make sure we understand it. We have to have further discussion with the consultant but also internally to understand it and see where it leads.

Government Operations committee  I would like to be able to tell you that today, Madam Chair. I will have to defer to the secretary to confirm that, but I can give you the salient points of the study. If we look at the study itself, on page 11, we asked the consultants to compare the Canadian situation with a number of countries.

Government Operations committee  It's paid. They have to have cash to recognize the revenue instead of having a receivable. Everybody else recognizes a receivable, but for them, they need to have the cash to recognize it. That makes it a bit more complex to explain to a layman, say, why some are on an accrual basis and some are on a cash basis.

Government Operations committee  Okay. On the next page, you can see how the financial function works. There are different cycles in the financial function, ranging from budgeting and planning to financial management to financial reporting. Budgeting and planning deals with the start of the year. This is where you make your plan.

Government Operations committee  Yes.

Government Operations committee  The revenue for the Government of Canada is done at the budgetary level. The Minister of Finance will be making his projection in terms of what is the budget and what will be the revenue base for the Government of Canada. That is done on an accrual basis.

Government Operations committee  There are two different streams. On the revenue itself, the Minister of Finance will be making his projection, his budget, in terms of what amount will be raised. What you're talking about is the operating expenses of the department, and that's where the department, then, to manage its affairs, makes sure it has enough resources to make sure it collects the--

Government Operations committee  Thank you for the precision. On page 5 we talked about the three cycles, the three main importances of the financial function: budgeting, financial management, and financial reporting. When we look at page 6, different information is used for different functions for different users.

Government Operations committee  It's a very similar side.

Government Operations committee  Thank you, Madam Chair, for giving us this opportunity to present the views of the Comptroller General and the Treasury Board Secretariat regarding the use of accrual accounting within the federal government. We have a brief 18-page presentation. For Mr. Wallace, the annex is just there if you want to know more about it.

Government Operations committee  I don't think it has been blissfully ignored. As the Auditor General has said, this is a complex issue. It's been under study for eight years, and so on. There are different players around the table. If we prepare financial information for a certain purpose on a certain basis, it also must meet the needs of the users.

Government Operations committee  No, I'm not saying it has been political influence. It's that when the decision-makers--parliamentarians--look at the estimates, you are looking at them from a cash or near-cash perspective. In the future, if you want to go to resource management, you also have to look at the assets and liabilities, look at the balance sheet.

Government Operations committee  It would give better information to everybody.

Government Operations committee  At this stage, since we have already completed that part of the financial reporting that represents 50% of the work, we are already well advanced. Will it take 10 years? No. We are thinking it may be more like five years, but that is what it will take.

Government Operations committee  We'll be referring to it; it's in some of the information from the auditor.