Scotland's auditor has warned the Scottish government it has no detailed plan to make up a £5billion shortfall by 2030.
Auditor general Stephen Boyle issued the stark warning to ministers, but the government has insisted figures show it has a "firm grip" on public finances.
Mr Boyle, the BBC reports, also confirmed that ministers recorded a £1billion underspend for the last financial year -which is not uncommon - due to a £2.2billion increase in UK government funding and one-off savings.
While the government's medium-term forecast is for a £4.7billion funding gap by 2029-30, about £2billion of that is expected to come from a rising social security bill, with the auditor general also citing increasing workforce costs.
The report said ministers were yet to explain how they would make up for the projected budget black hole.
Mr Boyle said: "Although the Scottish government reported a £1billion underspend this year, it did so from a combination of additional funding from the UK government and one-off savings.
"A forecast gap of nearly £5billion remains between what ministers want to spend on public services and the funding available to them.
"The Scottish government needs to prepare more detailed plans setting out how it will close that gap by the end of the decade."
Finance Secretary Shona Robison said: "These unqualified accounts show that the Scottish government has once again demonstrated the firm grip we have on the public finances - despite the continued impact of inflation, pressure on public sector pay and wider geopolitical instability."
She added: "The Scottish government cannot overspend on its budget and - as we do every year - we left a small underspend in 2024/25.
"There is no loss of spending power to the Scottish government and our effective and prudent financial management means every penny has been reallocated for the current financial year so it is spent where it is needed most."
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