Audit condemns management at elite Paris institute

By Jane Marshall. The financial management of the elite Institute of Political Studies in Paris has been strongly criticised in an official report that found evidence of exorbitant bonuses, absence of controls and waste of public funds during the directorship of Richard Descoings, who died in April.
The 210-page provisional report of the Cour des Comptes (state auditor) on the institute known as Sciences Po for the period 2005-11 was obtained by Le Monde newspaper, which published its conclusions last week. The report revealed a chaotic management that consisted more of “little deals between friends than a serious administration of public funds”, said the paper.
The Cour des Comptes called for immediate reform of Sciences Po, reported Le Monde. It said Higher Education and Research Minister Geneviève Fioraso had told the institute’s leadership to halt the appointment procedure for Descoings’ successor until publication of the definitive report in November.