MoD numbers fail NAO test
The Ministry of Defence's accounts today got the thumbs-down from the National Audit Office due to out-of-date technology and a failure to account correctly for its fixed assets.
The NAO acknowledged the MoD had made significant progress in switching from cash based accounts to resource accounting, but gave a qualified opinion as the ministry had not fully complied with the accounting standard FRS 15 on fixed assets.
The ministry, which has assets of £86bn, had suffered in the move to resource accounting because many of its computer systems pre-dated the change and were not capable of producing the necessary information.
Sir John Bourn, head of the NAO, said: ‘I am confident that the department is currently taking the right steps to remedy the remaining deficiencies in its resource accounts, and is progressing the remaining issues as fast as it can.’
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