20. Accounting and budgeting: The introduction of International Financial Reporting Standards to the public sector offers the opportunity of developing a more consistent approach to recording assets and liabilities. We expect most PFI projects to come on to the balance sheet of the financial accounts. But the Treasury has decided that Departments' budgets will follow different guidance. This may mean that the debt and assets of most PFI projects will not be included against Departments' budgets or in statistics of Government debt. This is at odds with the Government's stated intention of aligning the accounting and budgeting systems.
21. Financing: Since September 2008, the credit crunch has caused the cost of new private finance to increase. This has raised questions about its suitability in the current economic climate, particularly for those embarking on new projects where there is time to consider alternatives. The National Audit Office intends to look at how well public authorities manage this process over the next year or so.