Commentary on Provisions The schedule Paragraph 13 – Ability to appoint person to prepare statement of account
180.Section 45 of the 2005 Act provides a mechanism designed to ensure the preparation of charity accounts in a situation where a charity has failed to prepare these itself as required. In such cases, OSCR is permitted to appoint a suitably qualified person to prepare the accounts at the expense of the charity’s charity trustees.
181.This paragraph of the Act’s schedule makes a minor, technical change to subsection (1), which sets out when the ability to use this power applies. Previously, this subsection stated that the section applied where a charity failed to send a copy of its accounts to OSCR by the deadline for doing so. This would theoretically have covered a scenario where accounts had been submitted, but had been submitted late. While there would be no reason for OSCR to instruct the preparation of accounts where they had already been submitted, this paragraph narrows the language to match new section 45A(1) (inserted by section 12 of this Act). This provides instead that the section applies where the charity has failed to submit its accounts and the deadline for doing so has passed.