B.C. auditor general Russ Jones released a report August 8 that concluded that B.C. ran a $1.7 billion surplus in the 2012-13 fiscal year instead of the $1.1 billion deficit that the B.C. government announced.
Jones said the difference resulted from different ways that he and the B.C. government accounted for transfers from the federal government and from other funding sources, such as donations to public universities, which are used to pay for construction and other projects.
Jones maintains in his report that new accounting rules, introduced in 2012, require government transfers and other revenue to be accounted for when it is received and spent.
In contrast, the B.C. government spreads revenue across the lifetime of a project. Money received from Ottawa for a bridge, for example, would be spread over the expected lifetime of the bridge and not all in one year.
“While a surplus sounds favourable, the province would not have extra money,” Jones said in a release. “These funds are already allocated to their respective major projects.”
