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‘It's not like that in the private sector.' I recall that comment being made to me during my first days in local government. No, it is not. And nor should it be. We are regularly compared with colleagues in other sectors, and very often, not favourably. It seems that the public v private debate still rages, although it is not always helpful. Most recently, I was reminded of the debate when reading a John Kay article in the Financial Times newspaper, entitled, ‘Accounting rules for public duty and private failure' (published 5 August). The nub of the argument was that while there have been significant developments in resource accounting and using finance to help deliver more effective service delivery – and who would dispute the need for that – fundamental differences between the sectors should not push the accounting comparison too far. Public sector organisations are, and will continue to be, going concerns, and our creditors cannot take control of our assets. Similarly, liabilities. Our future obligations are often subject to policy which has yet to be defined, rather than current legal duties. Extend that point to the debate on pension liabilities, and the application of accounting rules equally across sectors diminishes significantly. Yes, we have future liabilities, but they are underpinned by legislation itself supported by tax revenues. Maybe that makes it an unfair world for those who don't have the benefit of final salary pension schemes – which is a part of our remuneration rather than a perk, but it is not a justification to impose inappropriate accounting rules and regulations simply because they are used elsewhere. We can and should look for cross-sectoral comparison, and use it if it helps, not simply because of who we are comparing ourselves with. Gareth Moss is director of finance at Bridgend CBC

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FINANCE

Money matters

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