SNP chiefs have resorted to spamming auditors in a desperate bid to get the party’s books signed off.
The Nats stand to lose out on more than £1million of public cash with fears bosses will be forced to axe staff.
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With just over a month until the party must submit accounts for the Westminster group, chiefs have failed to appoint an auditing firm.
Last night it emerged that SNP HQ had been sending out a template note with the subject line “Audit enquiry” to companies in a desperate attempt to meet the looming deadline.
The email seen by The Times, said: “We are urgently seeking a statutory auditor to comply with our obligations to the Electoral Commission as well as an audit of our Westminster group at the House of Commons.
“Would you have any capacity to assist in either of the above?”
The email was sent by Susan Ruddick who has taken over as the SNP’s acting chief executive.
Johnston Carmichael, which had worked with the SNP for more than a decade, quit as auditors in September last year.
The lack of an auditor has led to a civil war ripping through the Nat’s Westminster group.
Ex-Nats Commons leader Ian Blackford claims to have been misled by successor Stephen Flynn over the appointment of a new auditor – while sources have claimed it was the new SNP Westminster leader who sought help from Commons bosses.
On Monday, Mr Flynn accused his predecessor of failing to tell him that the group at Westminster faced missing out on £1.2million because its accounts could not be signed off.
However, sources close to Mr Flynn have insisted no guarantee was made.
An SNP spokesman said: “We take our statutory obligations seriously and until a contract is signed, we will continue our search.”
