NAO comptroller appointed
Amyas Morse to be the next comptroller and auditor general at the National Audit Office
A former global managing partner at
PricewaterhouseCoopers has
been appointed comptroller and auditor general at the
National Audit Office.
Amyas Morse will succeed current C&AG Tim Burr at the watchdog, subject
to approval by the House of Commons.
He will take up the role once Parliamentary time has been found to pass the
government’s constitutional renewal bill placing reforms of NAO governance on a
statutory basis.
His appointment comes amid growing concern over delays to the legislative
timetable for reforming how the NAO is run. In 2007, Sir John Bourn stepped down
as C&AG after an expenses scandal.
Morse’s appointment follows a selection process chaired by Commons Public
Accounts Committee chairman Edward Leigh, including Treasury chief Sir Nicholas
Macpherson, Sir Andrew Likierman, recently appointed NAO board chairman elect,
and Burr.
Leigh said: “The position of comptroller and auditor general is hugely
important. Its independence is supported by the requirement for a nominee to be
agreed by both the Prime Minister and the chairman of the Committee of Public
Accounts, who is always from the opposition.’