It is a picture of community life across Scotland: the guilty 294 vary from the Scottish Women's Rural Institute (SWRI) and Brownies, through to the Scottish Schools Football Association and the Free Church.

But the publishing for the first time yesterday of organisations failing to submit their most recent accounts within six months of the 10-month deadline also highlights how stringent things will now be for them under the newly-created Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).

More than £10m is estimated to be unaccounted for in total, based on figures submitted for the previous year. The sums of individual missing accounts are thought to range from several pounds to several millions.

The OSCR was established as an executive agency in December 2003 after an outcry over charities that had mis-spent public funds.

And, while the failure to submit these most recent accounts may purely be down to an oversight on the part of the 294 organisations named, it nevertheless provides a wake-up call for all 23,500 charities in Scotland.

Offenders with the biggest estimated amount of unaccounted income includes the Family Planning Association in Scotland, which previously grossed a total of nearly £3.5m, Lanarkshire Education Trust, which grossed £1.4m, and Cash for Kids Christmas Charitable Trust, which took nearly £1m.

Also included is the Edinburgh Mela, which previously grossed a total income of £216,011. The Ibrox Community Trust follows hotly behind at £213,364. More than 97% of all charities in Scotland did submit their details on time, but the OSCR insisted public confidence required that those that had failed to do so were highlighted.

A spokesman for the OSCR said yesterday: "It is appropriate to publicise those who are not complying and we would encourage them to do so."

The defaulting list may also serve to demonstrate the importance to charities of keeping OSCR up to date with contact details. "It may be that some charities haven't passed on new forwarding contact details to us, so it is important for them to do that," added the spokesman.

Each of the defaulting organisations was sent a reminder letter a month before the accounts should have been submitted. They were then sent a further three letters before they were deemed to have been in default.

Cash for Kids which moved office in July, and previously grossed an income of £953,594 for its Christmas Charitable Trust, insisted yesterday that its reminder letter had been acted upon.

A spokesman for the organisation said: "We have replied to the reminder and sent in our details, but we will clearly follow this up with Oscar' to clarify the position."

Other charities whose accounts are missing include the Scottish Schools Football Association (£102,133), the Queen's Own Highlanders Regimental Trust Regimental Museum (£23,554) and the Kintore Charitable Trust - Duke of Edinburgh Administrative Award Committee (£79).

The first 294 charities published have March, April and May 2006 financial year-ends, and the OSCR has moved to publish, each month, lists of defaulting charities in order to encourage compliance with the legislation and to highlight the importance of reporting to the regulator.

Lists can be searched by local authority area, charity name, or charity number, and organisations highlighted are as diverse as the 4th Keith Brownie Pack (£9324), Bell Baxter High School "Fund Fair" fund in Cupar (£2214), Garthspool Evangelical Church in Shetland (£5000), the Junior Chamber Scotland Educational & Training Fund in Glasgow (£409), Cumbernauld & Kilsyth Nursery and Out of School Care Ltd (£153,624), National Trust for Scotland Kincardine & Deeside Members Centre (£1865), and the William Robertson's Bursary Fund Free Church of Scotland in Edinburgh (£58).

If OSCR has not received an annual return and accounts from a charity within 12 months of the deadline date, the charity is at risk of removal from the Scottish Charity Register.

On the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator website here
At the bottom of the page - if you leave the text fields blank (Scottish Charity Number' etc.) then use the Search All' button.
List pages will open containing links to detailed information on each charity.