The government could save billions of pounds a year if it improved "shocking" spending processes, Topshop owner Sir Philip Green has said.
Sir Philip has reviewed government spending, and says it is failing to make full use of its buying power.
He said no business could survive the level of money that was wasted from the ?191bn of spending he reviewed.
He believes billions could be saved if the government did simple things like checking spending properly.
The Spending Review: Making It Clear
Speaking to the BBC's business editor, Robert Peston, he said that between ?600m and ?700m could be saved on the ?2bn telecoms bill alone.
'No accountability'
Sir Philip was asked to look at how efficiently Whitehall departments spent their money.
He said the information held about what the government spent on services was so sketchy that if his business was run in that fashion "the lights would go out".
Sir Philip said: "The process is shocking. There's no reporting, there's no accountability."
He told Robert Peston: "You could not be in business if you operated like this. It would be impossible."
His view is that the government fails to make the most of its scale, buying power and credit rating.
Sir Phillip runs the Arcadia Group of High Street retailers, which includes Dorothy Perkins and BHS.
His report says a lack of a centralised approach means different departments pay hugely different prices for the same items.
(Sir Philip) is keen to point out that the savings he is suggesting would not involve a single public-sector redundancy: all of the squeeze would be on private sector suppliers (who probably won't thank him)”
Robert Peston
Business editor, BBC News
Read Robert's blog
Sir Philip said: "The conclusion of this review is clear - credit rating and scale in virtually every department has not been used to make government spending efficient.
"There is no reason why government should not be as efficient as any good business."
Sir Philip has reviewed government spending, and says it is failing to make full use of its buying power.
He said no business could survive the level of money that was wasted from the ?191bn of spending he reviewed.
He believes billions could be saved if the government did simple things like checking spending properly.
The Spending Review: Making It Clear
Speaking to the BBC's business editor, Robert Peston, he said that between ?600m and ?700m could be saved on the ?2bn telecoms bill alone.
'No accountability'
Sir Philip was asked to look at how efficiently Whitehall departments spent their money.
He said the information held about what the government spent on services was so sketchy that if his business was run in that fashion "the lights would go out".
Sir Philip said: "The process is shocking. There's no reporting, there's no accountability."
He told Robert Peston: "You could not be in business if you operated like this. It would be impossible."
His view is that the government fails to make the most of its scale, buying power and credit rating.
Sir Phillip runs the Arcadia Group of High Street retailers, which includes Dorothy Perkins and BHS.
His report says a lack of a centralised approach means different departments pay hugely different prices for the same items.
(Sir Philip) is keen to point out that the savings he is suggesting would not involve a single public-sector redundancy: all of the squeeze would be on private sector suppliers (who probably won't thank him)”
Robert Peston
Business editor, BBC News
Read Robert's blog
Sir Philip said: "The conclusion of this review is clear - credit rating and scale in virtually every department has not been used to make government spending efficient.
"There is no reason why government should not be as efficient as any good business."