SNP signs contract with new auditors AMS Accountants Group as deadline looms

The Westminster group has just weeks to submit audited accounts or risk losing £1.2 million

The SNP has finally secured new auditors more than six months after the previous firm to hold the post quit.

First Minister Humza Yousaf confirmed Manchester-based AMS Accountants Group would complete accounts for both the party and the SNP Westminster group.

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The SNP has been without auditors since September, with the Westminster group at risk of losing £1.2 million of public funding if it does not submit its audited accounts by May 31.

First Minister Humza YousafFirst Minister Humza Yousaf
First Minister Humza Yousaf

Meanwhile, the party as a whole needs to submit its accounts to watchdogs at the Electoral Commission by July 7, with failure to do so potentially resulting in a fine.

Mr Yousaf said: “I am pleased to confirm that we have secured the services of auditors to take forward our accounts. We take our statutory obligations extremely seriously, so it is welcome news that AMS Accountants Group will complete the accounts for both the party and the SNP Westminster group.

“There is hard work ahead, but it is really encouraging to have them on board as we work towards challenging deadlines. I am very grateful for the work of our new party treasurer Stuart McDonald in securing the auditors' services. I also wish to thank our previous auditors Johnston Carmichael for their professional work over many years.”

Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said he was “confident” the group would meet its deadline.

The SNP has signed new auditors. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA WireThe SNP has signed new auditors. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire
The SNP has signed new auditors. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire

Johnston Carmichael had worked with the SNP for more than a decade. In September, it informed the party it had “taken the decision to resign following a review of our client portfolio and existing resources and commitments”.

Mr Yousaf previously admitted the lack of auditors was “problematic” and said one of his “major priorities” was finding a replacement. He said he only became aware of what had happened when he won the leadership contest.

AMS Accountants Group was late filing its most recent confirmation statement, according to Companies House. The document, which provides basic company information, was marked as overdue, but this was updated on Wednesday and it has since been filed.

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Businesses run by Ebrahim Sidat, one of the directors of AMS Accountants Group, have previously donated to former Labour MP Chuka Umunna and the Liberal Democrats.

Mr Yousaf said he had “every faith in the auditors that we have appointed”, adding: “It was one of my first and early tasks to get on with, particularly as SNP leader, given the challenging deadlines both in the Westminster accounts but also for the party accounts too."

Asked if the party had opened its books before the appointment, he said: "There's certain information they asked for and, of course, we provided it to them. They've taken on the job with that in mind."

In the past month, the SNP’s former chief executive Peter Murrell – who is Nicola Sturgeon’s husband – and its former treasurer Colin Beattie have been arrested in connection with a police probe into the party’s finances. Both Mr Murrell and Mr Beattie were released without charge pending further investigation.

The Scottish Conservatives later on Wednesday pushed for a statement on the turmoil engulfing the SNP, claiming it was “in the public interest”. Led by Douglas Ross, the Tories used their Holyrood debating time to push for clarity on the financial situation within the ruling party.

Speaking ahead of the debate, Mr Ross said: “These questions are not going away for the First Minister and SNP leader, who recently had to step in as the SNP’s acting treasurer.

“He cannot stick his fingers in his ears and claim this is not a matter for his Government, as well as his party, especially if the SNP were to face bankruptcy or an imminent threat to their viability.

“This is clearly also a Government matter if the First Minister is compromised, his hands are tied, or if he has been kept in the dark about his party’s affairs, as was the case with the resignation of the SNP’s auditors.

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“Right now, the real priorities of Scotland are being ignored by him and the SNP Government because they are distracted by the meltdown in the party.

“The unacceptable secrecy that has characterised the SNP in Government, on ferries, the Lochaber smelter, the Salmond affair, and many others, is equally evident in its internal financial scandal, and it has to stop.

“The public must have confidence that Humza Yousaf is treating this investigation as seriously as possible and this debate gives him the opportunity to address these questions in full.”

A previous push for a statement to Parliament was rejected by the First Minister, who said: “I don’t think Parliament is the place to do a statement on the party’s finances.”

As well as calling for the statement, Mr Ross’s party was pushing the Government to end the pre-release of statistics, “deliver a more transparent budget process”, publish ministerial expenses and travel quicker, and improve scrutiny of breaches of the ministerial code. The vote, however, is likely to fail thanks to anticipated support for the Government from the Scottish Greens.

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