Brexit - divorce bill

antrobus

Eric_the_half_a_bee wrote: »

That is not how balance sheets work. It is the job of the accountants to quantify all liabilities as at the date of the balance sheet.

For example:

IAS 37 Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets outlines the accounting for provisions (liabilities of uncertain timing or amount), together with contingent assets (possible assets) and contingent liabilities (possible obligations and present obligations that are not probable or not reliably measurable). Provisions are measured at the best estimate (including risks and uncertainties) of the expenditure required to settle the present obligation, and reflects the present value of expenditures required to settle the obligation where the time value of money is material.

https://www.iasplus.com/en-gb/standards/ias/ias37

As far as I can remember, even if a liability is uncertain you are supposed to disclose it by way of a note to the accounts.

I know that UK government accounts, the one that Hammond is trying to balance, doesn't include a whole pile of liabilities. You have to look to the Whole of Government Accounts to see what they are.

I don't know how EU accounts work.:)