{"id":17568,"date":"2017-12-15T16:45:34","date_gmt":"2017-12-15T16:45:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ihbconline.co.uk\/newsachive\/?p=17568"},"modified":"2017-12-15T16:45:34","modified_gmt":"2017-12-15T16:45:34","slug":"scotlands-charity-watchdog-is-to-investigate-the-finances-of-rias","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=17568","title":{"rendered":"Scotland\u2019s charity watchdog is to investigate the finances of RIAS\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/BBC_website151217.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-17569\" src=\"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/BBC_website151217-250x300.png\" alt=\"BBC website 151217\" width=\"250\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a>The BBC reports that Scotland\u2019s charity regulator OSCR has opened an investigation into the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) following concerns raised by a number of organisations and individuals.<\/h3>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The BBC writes:<\/p>\n<p>Last month, 150 architects formed A New Chapter. It accused RIAS of being \u2018secretive and autocratic\u2019 as well as having \u2018a lack of effectiveness, poor governance and insufficient accountability\u2019. The BBC understands that charity watchdog OSCR believes some concerns \u2018warrant further inquiry\u2019 It is thought to be looking into the oversight and control of RIAS&#8217;s finances by its trustees. They are also looking at the remuneration of the secretary and treasurer, which is alleged to have increased substantially since 2008. Other financial management such as staff trips abroad and use of the charity credit card are also thought to be included in investigation.<\/p>\n<p>OSCR said it would not confirm or deny it was investigating. Scottish architect and academic Prof Alan Dunlop told BBC Scotland an investigation by OSCR was \u2018not a surprise\u2019. He said: \u2018The RIAS is an organisation firmly rooted in the past and the level of secrecy and lack of transparency is unhelpful in a member funded charity. The governing structure is also archaic, for it is self-selecting and self-promoting.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018However, change will be difficult, for the forces of conservatism within the Incorporation are strong and should not be underestimated.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-scotland-42279791\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read more&#8230;.<\/a>\u00a0and read the article in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/newsletter\/news\/police-probe-alleged-financial-irregularities-at-rias\/10026356.article\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Architects Journal<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The BBC reports that Scotland\u2019s charity regulator OSCR has opened an investigation into the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) following concerns raised by a number of organisations and individuals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sector-newsblog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17568"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17568\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17570,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17568\/revisions\/17570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}