THE SNP leadership contest cost the party £160,000 which it had not budgeted for, according to leaked documents.
The party is also looking to recruit a “part-time qualified accountant”, treasurer Stuart McDonald MP told the meeting of the SNP National Council over the weekend.
The news comes from the final agenda for that meeting, which was reported on the Wings Over Scotland website.
McDonald wrote in his report to the national council: “While I cannot comment on the ongoing police investigation, one consequence is that there is work to do to rebuild trust in the processes and procedures that are in place to ensure financial management of our party.
“Working with staff, the Finance and Audit Committee and our auditors, steps have been taken and work is ongoing to refresh existing policies and introduce new policies which will improve accountability and transparency in financial decision making.
“Significantly, to improve the financial information that is available to staff, office bearers and NEC, colleagues on the National Executive Committee recently signed off on proposals to recruit a part-time qualified accountant; and while that recruitment process is ongoing. to engage an outside firm to undertake such work.”
He went on: “The first half of 2023 was not without challenges. The overall cost of the leadership election was around £160k, none of which was budgeted for.
“Membership income has been hit by the overall fall in membership numbers (73,936 as at 29 June), while the cost of living crisis has also impacted on the level of membership payments. However, looking ahead, the position is significantly more positive.”
In March, during the SNP leadership race, the party reported it had 72,186 members, meaning they had around 1800 more at the end of June.
McDonald (above) added elsewhere: “While making predictions is not always wise, I remain confident our 2023 accounts will show a surplus as we build towards what will be a crucial general election year.
"We still have much work to do to ensure we put the party on the soundest financial footing possible.”
Earlier in August, accounts published online by the Electoral Commission showed the SNP had a deficit of £804,278.
The SNP’s total income dropped to £4,248,625 in 2022, down from £4,529,960 in 2021, while spending last year amounted to £5,052,284.
The deficit stood at £732,072 in 2021.
