The SNP has filed its annual accounts with the Electoral Commission, meaning it has avoided a potential fine for late filing.

The Electoral Commission, which regulates party and election finance, said it had received the party’s accounts on Friday before the deadline.

The body requires political parties to submit their accounts to the agency by 7 July, or risk being fined.

The SNP had previously warned the commission of the “difficulty” it was having in finding new auditors after its previous firm, Johnston Carmichael, resigned amid the recent controversy over the party’s finances.

The SNP then appointed AMS Accountants Group as its new auditors in May.

It is understood AMS Accountants Group has now completed accounts both for the party and for the SNP group at Westminster.

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The accounts are expected to be published by the Electoral Commission at a later date.

Mr Yousaf admitted he was unaware of Johnston Carmichael’s resignation until he became party leader following Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation.

The appointment of a new auditor came following an ongoing police investigation into the SNP’s funding and finances, relating to the whereabouts of £600,000 raised by the party for independence campaigning.

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The investigation reached a peak with the arrest and subsequent release of Ms Sturgeon, who returned to Holyrood late last month “absolutely certain” that she had done nothing wrong.

“It’s not been the best period in my life,” she told waiting reporters.

“It’s not an easy period. I’m not saying that for sympathy… The thing that sustains me right now is the certainty that I have done nothing wrong.”

Stuart McDonald, an SNP MP, was appointed party treasurer following the resignation of his predecessor Colin Beattie, who was also arrested and released without charge as part of the probe.

Peter Murrell, the SNP’s former chief executive and Ms Sturgeon’s husband, was also arrested and later released without charge.

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