SEVERAL former SNP councillors and local party officials have demanded a probe into the party’s former auditors for failing to spot Peter Murrell’s embezzlement.
Last month, the former SNP chief executive was sentenced to five years and three months imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to embezzling more than £400,000 from the party.
The Daily Mail reports that a complaint has been lodged with the chartered accountancy industry regulator to demand an investigation into Johnston Carmichael.
The firm was responsible for auditing the party’s accounts until its resignation in 2022.
Jim Orr, an internal audit specialist and former councillor in Edinburgh, coordinated the complaint, which has been backed by several former councillors and SNP local branch officeholders.
In a letter to the Institute for Chartered Accountants Scotland (ICAS), the complainants say they have concerns about “a potential breach of professional standards on the part of Johnston Carmichael in relation to their former role as auditors of the Scottish National Party”.
“While it is public knowledge that numerous tactics were employed to cover up the recent high-profile embezzlement of SNP funds, it is concerning that the auditors may not have responded appropriately to multiple counts of suspicious behaviour,” the complaint reads.
“Nor did they appear to escalate their findings to senior party figures via the management letter, or any other means.
“Instead, the accounts of the SNP were signed off year after year as ‘true and fair’, thereby giving a misleading impression that all was well to the users of the accounts, not least the ordinary members of the SNP who continued to contribute significantly to the funding of the party.
“The true picture was that the normal suite of governance checks and balances had completely broken down.”
It also sets out concerns about the SNP’s treasurer and national convener reportedly being unaware of the existence of “unusual high-value fixed asset purchases”.
They claim this indicates Johnston Carmichael did not make them aware.
“As ICAS are the guardians of the public trust and responsible for upholding standards within the profession in Scotland, we take the view that you are professionally obliged to investigate whether Johnston Carmichael acted properly at all times,” the letter adds.
Orr was joined by six co-signatories on the complaint. They include Andy Doig, an independent councillor who quit the SNP in 2017, Fraser McAllister, who previously represented the SNP on East Lothian Council for Musselburgh West, and former SNP Musselburgh branch officials Margaret and Willie Renton.
An unnamed former SNP constituency chairman in Edinburgh North and Leith and London branch member, and a former SNP assistant national secretary are also understood to have backed the complaint, according to the newspaper.
Orr told the Mail that he wants the SNP to launch an internal audit following the Murrell scandal.
“I want to see that everything is ok now,” he said.
“I always felt the checks and balances were missing. Could they do more, like bringing in an in-house accountant? Is budget management there? What is the role of the chief executive?”
A spokesperson for Johnston Carmichael said: “As a regulated organisation, we adhere to our obligations on client confidentiality and do not discuss client business.”
ICAS told the newspaper it doesn’t comment on individual cases or “on relationships between firms and their clients”.
“We’re also unable to say whether we’ve received complaints about specific individuals, firms or matters, or to comment on any ongoing regulatory investigations,” a spokesperson added.
“Our role is to maintain public confidence in the accountancy profession by promoting high professional and ethical standards. We do this through regulation that is robust, proportionate and fair.
“Where there are concerns that a member, firm, CA student member or affiliate may not have met the standards expected of them, ICAS will look into the matter in line with our rules and investigation regulations.”
