UK charity regulator launches investigation on Salvation Army over unpaid bills

The Charity Commission in the U.K. is conducting an investigation on the Salvation Army after it failed to pay thousands of pounds worth of bills due to an accounting system error.

Salvation Army officers were reportedly in "despair" after a digital accounting system called SAASY, which was introduced by the Christian organization in April to "centralize" its finances, failed to process payments on time.

"We want to take this opportunity to unreservedly apologise for the delay in some of our suppliers receiving payment for invoices and the added pressure this has had on some of our officers and staff," a Salvation Army spokesman told Daily Mail.

A source from the Salvation Army has said that officers have been receiving final demand letters for payment because the unpaid bills were in their names.

"Red letters are arriving every day. The officers are being pushed to the edge by the sheer stress of the situation," the source stated, adding that some are already thinking of leaving the Salvation Army due to the financial pressure they are now facing.

The Charity Commission is now conducting an investigation on the Salvation Army's problems with its accounting system. The probe is looking to establish whether regulatory advice or "other action" from the commission is required after the Christian charity reported the incident.

In a leaked email to the workers, Salvation Army trustee Lieutenant-Colonel Alan Read apologized for the disruption caused by the new accounting system.

"I am horrified to learn of the difficulties many of you have encountered during these long weeks and despite the distress and anxiety this has caused and the depths of despair some of you have plumbed, you have continued your mission work," Read said.

"I applaud you and say that it is against the difficult backdrop of SAASY that you have continued working. Sorry will never be a big enough word," he added.

Read also noted in the email that two senior Salvation Army finance officers had already resigned on Aug. 11. It was revealed on Saturday that the joint heads of the Salvation Army in the U.K., commissioners Clive and Marianne Adams, are being reassigned to Sweden and Latvia.

A Salvation Army spokesman said that it would be "inappropriate" to speculate on the reasons for the resignation of the finance officers, adding that a new finance director had already been appointed. He also noted that the relocation of the heads of the U.K. Salvation Army to positions abroad was not connected to the issues related to the new accounting system.

The Christian charity currently has 50,000 members, 4,000 employees and 1,000 officers in the U.K. and the Republic of Ireland.