Less than half of all Scots believe the BBC is good at representing their life in its coverage of news and current affairs.

Just 48% of people in Scotland believe the corporation does well at this - the lowest proportion of any of the countries in the UK.

The figure, which compares to a total of 58% in England, was revealed in the BBC's annual report,.

The BBC Audience Council - which advises the BBC Trust on the views, needs and interests of audiences - said the corporation should be "more searching" in comparing differences in policy in the different parts of the UK in the wake of devolution.

It said: "Alongside the constitutional debate, the growth of increasingly distinctive public policy debates in Scotland calls for more differentiated journalistic treatment of these topics for audiences here.

"The council believes the BBC should be more accurate in reporting how the UK is governed, more searching in comparing public policy in the different nations and should achieve a better balance in reporting Scottish and non-Scottish news for audiences in Scotland."

While the council welcomed the rise in programmes made in Scotland for the BBC network, it said its members were "disappointed that the increase has not led to more programmes reflective in some way of Scotland".

BBC Trustee for Scotland Bill Matthews said: "This has been a difficult year for the BBC following last autumn's revelations about Jimmy Savile, but I am pleased to see that BBC Scotland has performed well for audiences and there has been some outstanding content across a range of genres, with our Audience Council noting that there has been a step change in the quality and range of TV for audiences in Scotland.

"Our Audience Council has identified some areas that need further work. They have stressed the need to address the ongoing issue of finding the right balance of Scottish news and news which only affects other parts of the UK, and have highlighted that the network television programming made in Scotland should be more reflective of Scotland.

"Next year BBC Scotland will deliver comprehensive coverage of the Commonwealth Games and the independence referendum, bringing every development to audiences and making the most of the BBC's online and digital capabilities."

The annual report and accounts show the BBC has spent around £5 million investigating the Savile sex scandal and its aftermath.

The Pollard Review, which looked at why the BBC dropped a Newsnight investigation into Savile, accounted for almost half of that.

It cost £2.4 million which included £101,000 to cover the "legal and related costs" of Helen Boaden who was heavily criticised in the report.

The then Head of News was among the senior executives who were criticised for failing to act while the BBC was plunged into chaos by the scandal.

Figures show the cost of the review and subsequent investigations into respect at work and the BBC's culture and practices while Savile worked there have cost £4.9 million excluding tax and VAT up to the end of March.

The third investigation, which will also examine the case of recently jailed Stuart Hall, will be published later this year sending the final bill even higher.

Writing in the report, BBC Trust chairman Lord Patten quoted Charles Dickens to compare the success of the Olympics coverage with the Savile scandal saying "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times".

He said the revelations about the scrapped Newsnight investigation and subsequent departure of director-general George Entwistle were "low points".

He said: "The BBC seriously let down both itself and licence fee payers".

New director-general Tony Hall said he wanted to change the culture at the BBC and called for "greater personal accountability" and a simpler corporation.

In a letter to Lord Patten he said he had been "struck by the complexity of the organisation and inhibiting effect that has on creativity."

He added that he was "personally leading a major piece of work to look at how we can simplify our organisation".

The BBC initially said the Pollard Review would cost £2 million but Tim Davie, who stood in as director-general following Mr Entwistle's departure, said that had been an "estimate".

He said: "The primary objective here was to do it properly and fully".

At a press conference at New Broadcasting House in central London, Mr Hall said he hoped the BBC would be a "simpler" organisation by this time next year.

He said he would be working closely with HR executive Lucy Adams, who was heavily criticised by a committee of MPs last week over hefty pay-offs to senior staff, and said he had full confidence in her.

Matthew Sinclair, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "Families up and down the country are having to pick up the cost of investigating this terrible scandal through their licence fees, which then reduces the resources available for making programmes.

"The bill for investigating the Savile case and its fallout has been made all the greater by failings at the corporation.

"It is therefore vital, given its importance and the expense involved, that the Pollard Review is published in full rather than its current heavily redacted form.

"Senior BBC staff found responsible for serious failings must also be held to account for their actions rather than being let go with a secret pay-off, as has happened too often in the past."

The accounts showed spending on top on-screen talent fell, with the number of people paid more than £500,000 dropping from 16 to 14.

But the cost of the executive board rose from £2.5 million in 2011/12 to £4.1 million in 2012/13 with chief financial officer Zarin Patel getting a pay rise from £337,000 to £366,000 in the same period.

The man behind the BBC's coverage of the 2012 Olympics, Roger Mosey, who is due to leave the BBC this year to become Master of Selwyn College at Cambridge University, has a pension pot of £2.8 million.

Ms Boaden's pension pot stands at 1.5 million, while Caroline Thomson, who had a total remuneration of 860,000 in 2012/13, has a pension pot worth £1.9 million.

Ms Thomson, who was regularly criticised for excessive expenses claims, was given £683,000 last year for "compensation for loss of office".

She left the BBC after her application to become director-general was rejected and also took a "tax-free cash lump sum" of £251, 770.

The accounts also show the BBC made a profit of £78 million on the sale of Television Centre in west London.

Its income from the licence fee rose by £50 million to £3.65 million in 2013.