Summary Report on Resources

B.C.'s health services budget has continued to grow and it is important this funding is used wisely to provide the best care and achieve the best outcomes for patients, and that all parts of the system manage within their allocated budgets. The ministry monitors financial status throughout the year so any problems can be identified and addressed, and ensures overall costs remain within its budget.

The Ministry of Health Services 2004/05 budget was $10.71 billion (includes Estimates and Supplementary Estimates). The actual spending for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2005 totaled $10.67 billion, resulting in an operating surplus of $40 million, which represents 0.4 per cent of the budget. In addition, an accounting adjustment to reverse prior year accruals of $60 million was credited to the ministry budget as a year-end adjustment. Accrual reversals are a normal part of accounting practices, however, in prior years these adjustments were applied to the Consolidated Revenue Fund and were unavailable to the ministry for spending. A change in accounting practice in 2004/05 resulted in these adjustments being credited to the ministry budget; however, once again they were not available to the ministry to spend. This adjustment results in a total ministry surplus of $100 million.

The following table provides an overview of financial results for 2004/05. A full Report on Resources can be found in Appendix B.

	Total Estimated	Actual	Variance (Actual minus Total Estimated)1	% of Budget
Operating Expenses ($000)
Operating Expenses	10,706,431	10,666,381	(40,050)	0.4%
Adjustment of Prior Year Accruals2		(59,943)	(59,943)
Total — Ministry of Health Services			(99,993)	1.0%