Call for audits of trust boards

Press, 20 October 1980, Page 24

Call for audits of trust boards

PA Wellington; Every charity raising money through street - appeals or house*to"house collections should be. required to have its accounts audited, according to the property law and equity reform committee of the Law Reform Council. This is one of the recommendations in the committee’s report on the Charitable Trusts Act, released yesterday by the Minister of Justice (Mr McLay). The committee believed that an auditor had the expertise and status to advise the Attorney-Gen-eral where . he suspected there had been any malpractice, Mr McLay said. The committee noted that of the 101 charitable institutions that participated in a survey it ran, most of those which ap-

pealed to the public for funds alreadv *'•' 1 th accounts audited. It recommended organisation incorporated as a trust board shuu... vc required to file accounts. The report said that the only provision for the general oversight of charitable trusts was the power vested in the AttorneyGeneral. “In practice his functions are exercised only when trustees apply for the approval of a scheme and when some is raised by a member of the public. Howe. ~ committee has little evidence that there is any significant degree of misappropriation of charitable funds in New Zealand,” Mr McLay said. He said the Government would consider whether, as a result of the report, legislation should be introduced.