Education (Scotland) Act 1980

111 Accounts and audit of educational endowments

(1) It shall be the duty of the governing body of every educational endowment administered under a scheme made by the Court of Session which provides for the audit of the accounts of that endowment in such manner as the Secretary of State may prescribe, or administered under a provisional order made under the Act of 1878, or under a scheme made under the Act of 1882, the Acts of 1928 to 1935, Part VI of the Act of 1946, Part VI of the Act of 1962 or under this Part of this Act, other than any such endowment to which section 106(1) of the [1973 c. 65.] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, applies, to comply with the following provisions of this section.

(2) The governing body of every endowment to which this section applies shall keep proper accounts and other records in relation to the functioning of that body, and shall prepare in respect of each financial year a statement of account in such form as the Secretary of State, or, in the case of a university endowment or the Carnegie Trust, the Scottish Universities Committee of the Privy Council, may by order direct.

(3) The accounts of every endowment to which this section applies shall be audited each year by an auditor appointed by the governing body with the approval in the case of a university endowment or the Carnegie Trust, of the Scottish Universities Committee of the Privy Council; and no person shall be qualified to be appointed auditor as aforesaid unless he is a member of one or more of the following bodies:—

(a) the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland ;

(b) the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales;

(c) the Association of Certified Accountants;

(d) the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland ;

(e) any other body of accountants established in the United Kingdom and for the time being recognised for the purposes of section 161(1)(a) of the [1948 c. 38.] Companies Act 1948 by the Secretary of State ;

but a Scottish firm may be so appointed if each of the partners therein is qualified to be so appointed.

(4) The governing body of every endowment to which this section applies, other than a theological endowment, a university endowment or the Carnegie Trust, shall, within such period after the end of the financial year of the endowment as the Secretary of State may direct, send such copies as the Secretary of State may require of the audited accounts of the endowment to the Secretary of State, who may examine these accounts and call for any other records kept in pursuance of subsection (2) above and for such additional information as he may require.

(5) Where the Secretary of State is of the opinion that the governing body of any endowment, the accounts of which he has examined in pursuance of subsection (4) above have not complied in any respect with any enactment, deed or other instrument applying to them, he shall so report to that body and shall afford to them an opportunity of satisfying him that they are not in default.

(6) The Registrar of Educational Endowments shall make the audited accounts of every endowment to which this section applies available for public inspection at all reasonable times.

(7) Any provision in a governing instrument referred to in subsection (1) above prescribing the financial year of an endowment shall remain in operation notwithstanding the repeal by the Act of 1962 of section 11(2) of the [1956 c. 75.] Education (Scotland) Act 1956.