The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) supported the government on its announcement of a new approach to the fiscal framework which takes a public sector balance sheet approach for the first time.

This was advocated for in ACCA’s report, Sustainable public finances through Covid-19, which was published in June 2020.

Alex Metcalfe, head of public sector at ACCA says: ‘This is an important and innovative development. The central recommendation of our June 2020 report called for governments to use accounting data and take a balance sheet approach to effectively manage their finances through the Covid-19 crisis.’

The group also welcomes the creation of the new Contingent Liability Central Capability, which will analyse and advise on ways to strengthen contingent liability expertise across government.