International accounting has never attracted so much interest from charity fundraisers, as the ongoing saga over the last six months about the impact of International Accounting Standard 27.

The Treasury announced the latest instalment of the story on Friday, when they said they were not going to do anything for another year. In this case, no news is good news, at least for hospital charities. I imagine the accountants who would have been faced with extra work on the back to the standard might see it differently.

So what’s the story and why does it matter? In light of much needed consensus in international accounting (remember Enron et al?), the International Accounting Standards have been introduced. However, with every good idea, there are various unintended consequences. In this case, IAS27 implies that NHS Trusts should include within their accounts the accounts of all organisations to which they are linked where the value of accounts is material. About 30 large hospital charities, which are closely linked administratively to their NHS trusts, could be expected to have their accounts included within their NHS trust’s accounts.

As a former hospital fundraiser, I know that its really rather important to demonstrate that hard-earned donations to hospital charities aren’t simply going into some perceived black hole in the NHS trust’s coffers. Donors, quite rightly, want to know that their gifts are additional to state funding, and that they are making a difference, adding value where taxpayers’ money leaves off.

While IAS27 wouldn’t in reality change how NHS charity money is used, it would really muddy the waters, and give the impression that the charity and its hospital are one and the same.

Let’s hope HMT’s latest deferment can become an ongoing one. One case where government indecision is actually a good thing.