The SNP’s audit of accounts has been limited after documents relating to cash and cheques for membership payments and donations “were not kept by the party”.

The party insisted that the qualification was down to “administrative processes” and said there was no suggestion of misappropriation of funds.

Auditors said they are “unable to determine whether any adjustment to income is necessary”.

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The SNP's treasurer has claimed that the cost-of-living crisis has meant the "people-powered SNP campaign has faced challenges".

SNP leader Humza Yousaf revealed in April that the party’s long-term auditors, Johnston Carmichael, had resigned last September and the SNP had struggled to find replacements.

The firm walked away amid a police probe into whether the SNP misspent £660,000 raised for Indyref2 citing a review of its clients.

Mr Yousaf confirmed the party faced a deadline of July 7 to file annual accounts for 2022 with the Electoral Commission, both for the central party and its Westminster group.

The SNP is expected to meet statutory deadlines for the submission of its audited accounts to the Electoral Commission, with party bosses confirming the progress at a meeting of its National Executive Committee (NEC).

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But the audit of accounts contains one qualification relating to one stream of income.

The SNP said there was no suggestion that the accounts do not represent an accurate picture of the party’s financial position.

The point of qualification on the accounts reads: “During the course of our audit, we identified that original documentation in respect to some items of cash and cheques received for the current and prior year, relating to membership, donations and raffle income were not kept by the party.

“We have been unable to satisfy ourselves by alternative means regarding the completeness of income in respect of the above limitation in scope.

“Consequently we are unable to determine whether any adjustment to income is necessary in the current or prior year and the potential impact on opening reserves accordingly.”

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SNP Treasurer Stuart McDonald said: “I’m pleased to confirm that the Scottish National Party’s accounts have been approved by NEC for the year 2022 and we are in a position to meet our statutory obligations.

“The SNP’s main source of income remains our membership - which we are immensely grateful for.

“The audit process is an important part of transparency in the political sphere and I am grateful to colleagues in party HQ and our auditors for delivering these accounts in a timely manner."

He added: “We have already engaged with auditors and implemented administrative changes in accordance with their recommendations and will continue to do so. And our learning from this process will also feed into the Governance Review which is underway, and which will see us adopt the best practice and procedures in terms of oversight.

“Against the backdrop of a Tory-made cost of living crisis and a decade which has seen eight election campaigns, the people-powered SNP campaign has faced challenges but we are optimistic of a return to surplus in the next set of accounts and will be more than ready for the next electoral challenge.”