NASSAU, Bahamas — Moody’s yesterday delivered a major boost for the Government by hailing the launch of its quarterly fiscal reports as a move that will help regain lost “policy credibility”, The Tribune reported November 2.
The international credit rating agency, in an update to the capital markets, said such enhanced fiscal transparency and performance reporting will help restore confidence among global investors who were rattled by the Minnis administration’s recent revelation of $760m in unfunded spending arrears.
It also praised the Government’s “timeliness” in releasing the data within four weeks of the 2018-2019 fiscal first quarter’s September end, adding that this will enable “better understanding” of the reasons for any “deviation” from Budget projections.
Moody’s, though, warned that it was “particularly important” for the Government to deliver on its promises of switching the public sector to accrual-based accounting by 2022, a method that should provide a more accurate picture of its financial position because – unlike the existing cash-based system – it will account for spending commitments when they are made, not when funds are released. http://www.tribune242.com/news/2018/nov/02/moodys-boost-for-govts-credibility/
