States accounts confuse the picture

That is why it is so important for independent voices to speak up and shine a light on shortcomings within the system that would otherwise get swept to one side.

It is especially so when the subject is dry, dull and unlikely to ever win you many votes or plaudits.

Earlier this week think-tank the Guernsey Policy and Economic Group issued a scathing report about the States’ accounting processes.

It labelled the accounts as bizarre and complicated – and you get a sense that is just how the States likes it, because it leaves it with the flexibility to report surpluses when a truer reading of the situation would put the public finances in deficit.

It also clouds the picture when it comes to comparisons with other jurisdictions.

All this matters, as GPEG has indicated, because the rosier the picture politicians create, the more likely they are to spend on projects that would otherwise be seen as unaffordable and the less pressure there is to prioritise.

Everything flows from there, including how much money they take from the public and businesses to pay for public services, how much investment is made in maintaining infrastructure.

Funding to implement internationally recognised accounting standards was agreed eight years ago, so really that should be that.

But it has not happened.

In a response that has all the hallmarks of trying to sound like something was happening when all the signs are that little actually is, Policy & Resources said it was a significant piece of work that had to be prioritised against other priorities.

Well, quite – that is often the case with priorities.

We should be reassured, though, that it was being ‘actively pursued’.

The States’ accounts are a product of the silos on which so much effort has been expended in trying to break them down.

They serve to distract and confuse when clarity is needed to ensure robust decisions are being made.