BBC’s auditors KPMG scooped an extra 30% in fees from the broadcaster in 2009, compared to a year earlier.

The firm charged the BBC a total of £2.6m in 2009 for its audit and other services, from £2m in 2008.

The audit fee for 2009 was £500,000, down from £600,000 a year earlier.

KPMG’s fees for BBC subsidiaries audit, tax and corporate finance stayed roughly the same. However fees for ‘all other services’ increased to £1.1m from £500,000.

The increase was principally driven by work relating to BBC Worldwide transactions and projects, as well as individual assignments such as a review of management and financial controls in bbc.co.uk, following the BBC Trust’s 2008 review of BBC Online, said the BBC’s press office.

The valuation of the BBC’s pension scheme shows a deficit of £139m compared to a surplus of £528m a year earlier.

‘We remain committed to the defined benefit scheme and constantly review our approach to pension provision to effectively manage both cost and risk; however we also recognise that it must remain affordable to the license fee in the long-term,’ said BBC CFO Zarin Patel in the broadcaster’s financial overview.