News / SIC accounts praised by auditors
SHETLAND Islands Council’s financial accounts for 2011/12 have been given a clean bill of health by Audit Scotland after the council agreed to group its accounts with those of the £200 million Shetland Charitable Trust.
Some councillors and most trustees have always opposed the grouping of accounts as they fear it might jeopardise the independence of the charitable trust.
Last month, the SIC caved into pressure from the auditors, a move that has been condemned by the trust’s chair and vice-chairman.
During last week’s meeting of the trust chairman Drew Ratter said that “SCT has never and will never co-operate in the grouping of accounts”.
He told fellow trustees that he and trust manager Ann Black have had a meeting with SIC chief executive Alistair Buchan and the council finance boss James Gray during which they agreed to further discussions with charities regulator OSCR as well as with the Accounts Commission.
“This need s further discussion because OSCR and Accounts Commission tell different stories,” he said.
However, on Wednesday council chief executive Alistair Buchan issued a statement saying: “In my view, this is an absolutely crucial development for the council’s future success.
“I’m very pleased with Audit Scotland’s opinion on the annual accounts, which highlights the significant improvements made over the past year within the council’s finance service.
“This also reflects the ongoing progress being made across the council towards delivering its Improvement Plan.
SIC political leader Gary Robinson added: “I think this clearly demonstrates that the new approach taken by the leadership of this council towards working with its partners and external organisations is yielding dividends.”
Last year, the SIC was also criticised for the poor quality of its financial statements and inadequate working papers.
This year, they were submitted ahead of time and were described as being ‘of a high standard’.
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