BBC opens the doors to NAO
Broadcaster gives in and allows National Audit Office to choose its own work
The BBC is expected to announce today that will open its books to the
National Audit Office, Parliaments public spending watchdog.
The issue of whether the broadcaster should give the NAO freedom to audit any
part of the BBC had been a long running debate which became particularly intense
under the Labour government.
The Guardian reports that the BBC Trust has made the decision to grant the
NAO access and that the deal will be announced at the Lib Dem conference in
Liverpool today.
The BBC already works with the NAO but on a restricted basis looking at value
for money in areas chosen by the broadcaster.
The BBC’s accounts are currently audited by KPMG. In a rare show of
transparency the report notes that the lead partner is Scott Cormack. Few
partners are this open in private sector audits.
KPMG not only looks at the financial statements but also reviews the BBC
corporate governance statement as if the broadcaster were a FTSE100 company.
However, there has long been pressure for the BBC to come under greater
scrutiny from Parliament because it collects the licence fee.
A pledge to give the NAO greater access was included in the Tory election
manifesto.
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