7 Accounts and audit.E+W
(1)The Board shall keep separate accounts with respect to—
(a)its legal aid fund; and
(b)the receipts and expenditure of the Board which do not relate to that fund;
and shall prepare in respect of each financial year a statement of accounts.
(2)The accounts shall be kept and the statement of accounts shall be prepared in such form as the Lord Chancellor may, with the approval of the Treasury, direct.
(3)The accounts shall be audited by persons to be appointed in respect of each financial year by the Lord Chancellor in accordance with a scheme of audit approved by him, and the auditors shall be furnished by the Board with copies of the statement and shall prepare a report to the Lord Chancellor on the accounts and statement.
(4)No person shall be qualified to be appointed auditor under subsection (3) above unless he is—
(a)a member of a body of accountants established in the United Kingdom and for the time being recognised for the purposes of section 389(1)(a) of the Companies Act 1985;
(b)authorised by the Secretary of State under section 389(1)(b) of that Act to be appointed auditor of a company; or
(c)a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy;
but a firm may be so appointed if each of its members is qualified to be so appointed.
(5)Upon completion of the audit of the accounts, the auditors shall send to the Lord Chancellor a copy of the statement of accounts and of their report, and the Lord Chancellor shall send a copy of the statement and of the report to the Comptroller and Auditor General.
(6)The Lord Chancellor and the Comptroller and Auditor General may inspect the accounts and any records relating to them.
(7)The Lord Chancellor shall lay before each House of Parliament a copy of every statement of accounts and report of the auditors sent to him under subsection (5) above.
(8)In this section “financial year ” means the period beginning with the day on which the Board is established and ending with 31st March next following and each subsequent period of 12 months ending with 31st March in each year.