Fr Peter McVerry’s homeless charity listed 37 properties as “potential duplicate entries” in financial records and 33 properties were “potentially omitted” from its books, inspectors found after investigating “serious” governance failings in the organisation.
The inspectors found the duplicate entries overstated both fixed assets and liabilities, saying that would reduce the charity’s net assets by an amount between €12.6 million and €14.4 million.
The report for the Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority (AHBRA) raises yet more questions about lax board oversight in a charity that received €164.3 million from the State between 2018 and 2022 and €72.6 million in donations.
The board “was not provided with adequate detail in respect of expenditure” incurred by the organisation, the inspectors said. “The reporting to the board and/or subcommittees of capital expenditure was neither accurate nor complete.”
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Such findings were set out as the inspectors drew attention to family links between board member Richard Lavelle and the charity’s legal firm, Lavelle Solicitors.
“There were potential conflicts of interest in respect of some suppliers and advisers utilised by the [approved housing body] which were not declared by those potentially conflicted to the board at board or subcommittee level.”
The report found an adequate fixed asset register was “not maintained” by the trust, saying “no one” acknowledged responsibility for maintaining the register.
The inspectors went on to say the recording of land and freehold premises “was not accurate and could not be relied upon to provide a fully comprehensive record” for the balance sheet and financial statements.
They identified “significant inconsistencies and anomalies” in each data source, as well as poor record keeping and narratives of transactions.
“They considered each data source at the time of the report represents an incomplete data set and due to differences in naming conventions and lack of a unique property identifier it is not possible to reconcile all data sources.”
The inspectors received an updated draft report on the fixed asset register from consultants in November 2023.
“The [fixed asset register] appears not to have been held on any accountancy system but held on an excel file which has been compiled over a number of years from multiple different sources,” said the inspectors.
“They have not been able to confirm who held ultimate responsibility for the [fixed asset register] and its composition.”
The report added: “There was limited management of capital and creditor liabilities relating to land and premises and no evidence of a liabilities register.
“The organisation did not have a documented capitalisation policy the absence of which, it appears, contributed to inappropriate entries noted on the fixed asset register.
“The board did not have appropriate oversight of the procurement and governance of capital acquisition and expenditure by the AHB and did not evaluate the impact of such expenditure on its cashflows.”
The AHBRA’s findings follow heavy criticism of the McVerry organisation in recent reports for the Charities Regulator and the Comptroller & Auditor General. However, AHBRA chief executive Fergal O’Leary said the regulator was not deploying enforcement powers “at this stage” but will monitor a reform process to ensure the trust meets its obligations.
“The deficiencies highlighted in the report are of significant concern and have the potential to diminish public and funder confidence,” he said.
The McVerry board said it acknowledged “its overall responsibility” and deeply regrets what transpired as set out by the inspectors.
“It is also of particular regret that matters were kept from the board by persons who should have acted otherwise,” the board said. “As a result of intensive work since mid-2023, the operations of the trust are very different today. Financial oversight has been improved substantially.”
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