commission was self-funding, operating purely on income from audit fees. In 1998 the central government began providing grants to the commission due to its new responsibilities under "Best Value" legislation, and for the cost of setting up the Best Value and Housing Inspectorates. In 2009-10 the commission had an operating income of £213.1m. 86% of this came from fees charged to bodies audited; just 13% (£28.0m) came from central government grants. Around 70% of the commission's income in 2009-10 came from the local government sector, with the remainder coming from the health sector. Before the Coalition government announced further cuts, the commission had planned to cut spending by £32.1m by March 2013. Thirty percent of the commission's audits were carried out by five private audit firms. Structure Chairman and commissioners The governing board of the Audit Commission was made up of commissioners appointed by the Department of Communities and Local Government. Previous chairmen included Jeremy Newman, former chief executive of BDO International (2008-2011) and Michael O'Higgins (2006-2012), who had for 10 years previously been managing partner of PA Consulting. Controller of Audit / Chief Executive Marcine Waterman took up the post of Controller of Audit in September 2012. Previous incumbents include Eugene Sullivan, Steve Bundred (later of Monitor), Sir John Banham (later of the CBI), Sir Howard Davies (later of the CBI), Bank of England, FSA (Financial Services Authority) and LSE (London School of Economics), and Sir Andrew Foster. Criticism and controversy The commission had been criticised for its methods, particularly how it rated councils and health organisations. Liberal Democrat MP Vince Cable described the process organisations go through to earn stars as "disrespectful and utterly perverse". Occupational psychologist John Seddon called for the commission to be scrapped, which led to what The Times described as a "caustic personal attack" on Seddon from the commission. In 2009, the commission caused controversy when it published a report into the 2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis which accused seven local authorities of acting negligently by depositing £33 million into Icelandic banks a few days before they collapsed in October 2008. The Audit Commission had already stated that it too had deposited £10 million in Icelandic banks in the months leading up to the collapse. In 2010, Eric Pickles and Bob Neill accused the Commission of "shocking excess" in its expenditure, such as hiring external venues for staff training. Michael O'Higgins, the commission's chairman, defended