A WEST Belfast housing association submitted draft accounts and an audit report which presented "a false and misleading position", a charity regulator has found.
Woodvale and Shankill Community Housing Association submitted the documents for the year ending March 31 2018, even though they were not approved or signed off by the charity's trustees.
The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland opened an inquiry into the housing association in February 2020 amid concerns about potential conflicts of interest and several irregular bank transfers.
A report into the inquiry has been published today, around two-and-a-half years after the probe began.
It found that the submission of the accounts and audit report for the 2017/2018 financial year were "considered to present a false and misleading position".
The commission said the charity's trustees had an obligation "to ensure the information presented to the commission, and by extension stakeholders and the wider public, is up to date and accurate".
The report noted the complexity and length of the inquiry.
It said the probe was "further complicated and prolonged due to the additional risks to charity assets caused by the loans to the subsidiaries, as well as the investigation and consideration of other potential governance issues, including non-disclosure of transactions with the subsidiaries, the management of potential conflicts of interest, potential private benefit of trustees and senior management, establishing the accuracy of related party disclosures and seeking clarification around a number of irregular bank transfers".
The commission warned the housing association to "remain mindful of the risks associated with using charity funds to support subsidiaries and to ensure conflicts of interest are properly considered and managed".
"Delivery on the charity’s objectives must remain the focus of the charity’s activities," the report found.
However, the commission found that risks highlighted have since been properly mitigated and managed.
"Having worked with the charity trustees since the opening of the inquiry, the commission is content the trustees are now fully aware of their annual reporting obligations and are maintaining effective governance within the charity," the report found.
Rossa Keown, head of compliance and enquiries at the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, said all charity trustees must be aware of their responsibilities.
"Charity trustees are reminded of their obligation to ensure the information presented to the commission, and by extension stakeholders and the wider public, is up to date and accurate," he said.
"Furthermore, charity trustees should ensure that delivery on the charity’s objectives remains the primary focus of the charity’s activities.
“Our actions and the compliance of the charity trustees during the course of the statutory inquiry have ensured that the charity trustees are now fully aware of their annual reporting obligations, as well as maintaining effective governance within the charity.
"The commission has published guidance on running a charity, which is specifically aimed at supporting trustees on key aspects of operating a charity effectively and in compliance with the law.
"In particular, this guidance highlights the need for trustees to manage conflicts of interest and to maintain and retain proper financial records."
