Equality commission publishes first unqualified accounts

24 Nov 11
The National Audit Office has welcomed the ‘significant improvements’ made by the Equality & Human Rights Commission in its management of public money, leading to its first unqualified accounts
By Richard Johnstone | 24 November 2011

The National Audit Office has welcomed the ‘significant improvements’ made by the Equality & Human Rights Commission in its management of public money, leading to its first unqualified accounts.

The auditor qeneral’s report on the EHRC’s 2010/11 accounts found no repeat of the problems that had led to qualified opinions since 2007. In 2009/10, these included irregular procurement expenditure and failure to agree pay policies with government.

However, the NAO highlighted concerns that, as interim staff had achieved many of the improvements, they could be lost when these people move on.

The audit also warned that concerns remained about the commission’s financial and administrative controls, calling on chief executive Mark Hammond to be ‘clear and unequivocal’ that staff must comply with financial procedures.

Auditor general Amyas Morse said: ‘It is welcome that, as a result of improvements finally starting to take effect, I have been able to issue the first unqualified audit opinion on the accounts of EHRC since it was established in 2007. However, these are just the first steps and I have outlined a number of areas where EHRC needs to improve further.’

Hammond welcomed the approval of the accounts.

He said: ‘As chief executive, I am committed to driving down our costs further, increasing the value for money we offer. I’m confident the reform we are now embarked on will lead to a stronger, more focused and more accountable commission, playing a valuable role in ensuring equality and human rights underpin Britain’s economy and society.’

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