NAO qualifies biotechnology council accounts

ACCOUNTS HAVE been qualified for the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), due to failing to meet new accounting standards.

The National Audit Office's (NAO) comptroller and auditor general Amyas Morse qualified the BBSRC's accounts for failing to account for two of its sponsored institutes.

Under international financial reporting standards the sponsored bodies should be treated as subsidiaries of the council, and so their figures should be consolidated into the council's statements.

"While in practice the BBSRC does not seek to influence the operations of its institutes, and actions have been taken in recent years with a view to increasing their independence, the Council's intentions are not relevant to current accounting regulations and therefore these two bodies are deemed to be subsidiaries," stated the NAO.

While the council accepts the accounts should have been consolidated, the council intends to move the sponsored institutes to separate governance structures from next year and so did not deem it cost-effective to consolidate.

Apart from this issue, the C&AG was satisfied that the 2009/10 accounts have been prepared in accordance with the appropriate accounting and reporting requirements.