Has anyone seen my wallet?

Something funny happened to me the other day. I was walking along and I suddenly realised I'd lost some money. I knew I had it earlier on in the day, but then suddenly I didn't and I hadn't spent it. It's an easy enough thing to happen right? Losing £154,683.27 (the 27p was for my packet of Polos, inflation don't you know!).

OK, I'm lying, I didn't really lose £154,683.27, that was actually the Ministry of Defence in 2005-06. Yes honestly, they "lost" cash and cash equivalents (e.g. bank notes, postal orders, stamps and travel warrants) to the tune of just over £150K. The year before they were much better, they managed to lose only £7,438.06, which was a marked improvement on the £93,074.51 in the previous year (2003-04). So why so much? And more importantly, why so little in the middle year?

Did they start using money clips but then lose the money clips with content a year later? Have they looked down the back of the sofa? That's where I usually find the money I've lost. I wonder how much the other departments have mislaid? Wat Tyler says they're burning our money, he's wrong, the cowboys are bloody losing it!