11
Chief Accountants of each Section. All this tended to slow up accounting, and made work more complicated by reason of unavoidable delayed decisions on Traffic Rates, Transaction and Conversion Rates.
34. The Capital Account as at 1st May 1946 has been compiled on approximate figures after consulting the Accoun- tant General, who advised that the Capital value should be shown at a figure which bears a reasonable relationship to reality. Estimates, have been made by the technical staff of the Railway in accordance with the ideas expressed by the Accountant General, and the figure is $16,532,881.19. Additions and Betterments also an approx. figure amount to $2,429,641.80, making a total of $18,962,552.99 at the end of the year.
35. When the British Military Administration period ended on 30th. April 1946, this Department refunded a cash balance of $474,536.67 to Treasury, and the sum of $242,872.81 was due to the Chinese Section in respect of Traffic Earnings up to that date. This amount was subsequently paid to the Chinese Section from 1946/47 Revenue.
It is not yet known what basis is to be adopted regarding the handover from British Military Administration to Civil Administration and, pending a decision, all book balances have been brought forward from the British Military Administration period.
36. The net operating revenue was $4,431,700.03 and the operating expenditure $2,226,388.73.
37. An Operating Account has been drawn up for the purposes of this report, which, gives the financial picture of the Railway's working results for the eleven months under review.
38. The last available statements of account of this Depart- ment are those for the year 1939. No figures are available for 1940 and 1941, and a decision has not as yet been given the Department as to the procedure to be adopted in respect of these years.
A Profit and Loss Account and General Balance Sheet cannot be compiled until a ruling is made.
39. It should be noted that in the absence of records Depreciation on pre-war Rolling Stock has been calculated on a further life of 5 years for locomotives and 6 years for carriages and wagons.
40. Shortage of staff and continual resignations caused serious delays in compiling final Division Sheets, and it was not possible to make the first post-war half yearly settlement as at 30th. June 1946 until March 28th. 1947. The Chinese