Public Accounts committee  I could go through the presentation, if it would be helpful for the members. Or we could go directly to questions.

Public Accounts committee  Thank you for the invitation to appear before this committee to discuss the public accounts. The preparation of the financial statements for the Government of Canada is a challenging task that requires sound judgment in the application of professional accounting standards. This

Government Operations committee  I'm sorry, Madam Chair, but I have to co-chair an international committee meeting next Thursday.

Government Operations committee  There are not only costs at the end of the year; there are also surprises. That's one aspect. But it's not only at the end of year. Because we have two bases, it makes life complex throughout the year. One always asks what the impact of the year-end balance will be, but it's not

Government Operations committee  When people have been culturally acclimatized to the new way of doing business...and it's going to take some time. Let's not discount that.

Government Operations committee  Yes, eventually.

Government Operations committee  As I mentioned in relation to this table, it shows that there has been significant movement since 1996, notably in 2003 and subsequently. We still have some way to go, but that is the direction we would like to move in -- in other words, a single basis of accounting for both leve

Government Operations committee  The decision to adopt this method of accounting is a decision to be made by the government. There are advantages and disadvantages. My characterization of our current situation would not be that we're in the stone age -- far from it.

Government Operations committee  As my college already stated, it depends on what Members of Parliament want as a system to hold the government accountable. The first time I appeared before the Public Accounts Committee, I asked the Chair if we could introduce the idea of multi-year votes, which would make thing

Government Operations committee  To a large extent, that would be it.

Government Operations committee  Because appropriation is on a near-cash basis, they do manage cash, but the question is separating the cash from the operation, talking about that discussion about the fixed assets. You should take the right decision from an asset usage perspective, and then look at the financing

Government Operations committee  My apologies; it's a buzzword. I'm sorry—point well taken. As part of that reporting strategy for Parliament, how do you want to see the activities reported back to you? I think that should be part of the same exercise. As for the significance of changes, no doubt there will be

Government Operations committee  It's a mindset. We manage resources.

Government Operations committee  It's not a problem. That's the mindset we need to move to management resources, not only cash. So a loans portfolio is as important as a fixed asset. Cultural change is important, but it's not done overnight. On the estimate of cost, when you talk to the consultant, it's a very

Government Operations committee  Of course, but we also have to be fair. We have talked about New Zealand, Australia, and the U.K. It's not 180 countries around the world that do this. But we're far ahead of many countries. Those countries have shown us the way. Also, many provinces are doing so, so I think we h