The 2017-18 Public Accounts, the audited financial statements of the province for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018, have been released and tabled with the House of Assembly. The projected deficit has been revised to $910.8 million, a $98.9 million change from the 2017-18 revised estimate released during Budget 2018. This represents a change of just over one per cent from the overall 2017-18 budget of $7.3 billion.

The increase in deficit from the revised forecast is primarily the result of slightly lower than anticipated revenues and slightly higher than anticipated expenses, both primarily attributable to timing differences and actuarial adjustments.

The Public Accounts are prepared in accordance with the standards established for governments by the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada. The Consolidated Summary Financial Statements were independently audited by the Auditor General and were issued with an unqualified audit opinion.

Copies of the Public Accounts and the related reports for 2017-18 are available at gov.nl.ca/fin/public_accounts/.

Government remains on target to return to surplus by 2022-23, and continues to take decisive action in its multi-year plan to increase revenues, reduce expenses, eliminate waste and operate more efficiently and effectively.

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“Our province continues to work toward achieving a strong and diversified economy on our continued path towards returning to surplus in 2022-23. The 2017-18 public accounts show that the variance between budget day and today is a little more than one per cent from the overall budget of $7.3 billion. We remain 99 per cent on track – a positive outcome for any budget projection – and we remain committed to staying the course toward economic prosperity.”
Honourable Tom Osborne
Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board

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Public Accounts and Other Financial Reports

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Marc Budgell
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marcbudgell@gov.nl.ca