The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) has cleared a London college of any wrong-doing over a £4.1m budget black hole uncovered last year.
The SFA said there would be “no further investigation” of Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College, which hit the headlines in March after a draft audit report leaked to the Evening Standard raised concerns about possible “data falsification” in connection with the deficit.
But the college refused to release a subsequent report by Grant Thornton which was the basis of the SFA’s decision not to investigate further.
A college spokesperson said: “The college is satisfied the audit has come to a natural and expected conclusion.”
She added: “This is a confidential internal audit report and as such it cannot be shared.”
An SFA spokesperson said: “Following an independent financial audit by Grant Thornton, we reviewed the findings and concluded that no further investigation was required.”
The deficit was first identified in the college’s audited accounts for 2012/13, and prompted governors to commission the college’s internal auditors Grant Thornton to undertake a review.
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