A CIPFA member has been booted out of the institute after a £30,000 black hole was uncovered in a local lottery fund under his control.

Peter Nisbet was the treasurer for the Clackmannanshire Falkirk and Stirling Local Authorities Employee Lottery, but serious irregularities were highlighted by the internal audit function of its overseer.

Between January 2002 and December 2004, CIPFA said £33,000 in cash was withdrawn from the association’s account by Nisbet or with his authority, but auditors from the lottery’s registration authority found that receipts for only £2,500 had been submitted.

In expelling Nisbet, CIPFA found that he had failed to prepare adequate annual accounts, failed to keep financial records and failed to account for cash transactions.

CIPFA stressed that there was no allegation of dishonesty against him to suggest he had taken the money himself, but a failure to properly account for the cash distribution was a serious lapse.

This was not denied by Nisbet, who has also been the subject of a police investigation.