NAO takes over from EY as BBC auditor

In its Annual Report and Accounts the BBC has confirmed that the National Audit Office (NAO) will become their external auditors for the financial year 2017-2018, taking over from EY.

The report confirmed: “The Comptroller and Auditor General, Sir Amyas Morse CBE, has been appointed as the BBC’s external auditor; he is supported in this role by the National Audit Office (NAO).” Adding, “Sir Amyas and the NAO are independent of government.”

Prior to this the BBC Trust worked alongside commercial auditor EY to audit BBC’s financial statements. Under a new charter announced last year by Karen Bradley, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the NAO took over EY’s role of auditor from April this year. It will produce its first audit around this time next year.

Last year Bradley said of the decision: “The charter will enhance the NAO’s role and access – and allow it to conduct value-for-money studies on the BBC’s commercial subsidiaries. This money subsidises the licence fee, so the public has every right to expect value-for-money.”

The NAO has already worked closely with the BBC for the past 10 years, producing reports analysing its workforce and financial data. For the past few years they have also audited the broadcaster’s licence fee revenue statement, which sets out the amounts collected in the year by BBC and paid to the government. The public spending watchdog also examines the BBC’s collection arrangements and reports on them to parliament.

Over the past two years EY earned £4m in fees from the public broadcaster.

KPMG audited the BBC for 18 years before EY took over.

This news comes after EY appointed 63 new partners last week.