The cash-strapped Commonwealth is fast running out of funds, with member states meeting yesterday to discuss how to manage the funding crisis, sources have said.

Yesterday's meeting came at an especially difficult time for the organisation's secretariat, with its secretary-general Baroness Scotland busy fighting off allegations of profligate spending. 

A Commonwealth spokesperson confirmed that the executive board of the organisation's board of governors had met at the organisation's Marlborough House headquarters in London, though they declined to enter into specifics and said the meeting had been scheduled for "several weeks". 

Concerns about organisational funding have been brewing for several years, with the group's three wealthiest members - Britain, Canada and Australia - bankrolling approximately 70 per cent of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s budget, and other members reluctant to dig deeper into their pockets. 

Audited accounts for the Commonwealth secretariat show that the organisation ended the 2014-15 financial year with a slim £2.2 million (€2.5 million) surplus and a pension reserve £12.2 million (€14 million) in the red. More recent accounts have not yet been made available. 

Compounding the secretariat's problems are a high rate of staff turnover, with the organisation's 20145-2015 annual report noting that over 60 per cent of staff trained in results-based management had quit. 

Those figures date back to before Baroness Scotland's time at the helm of the organisation. The Baroness, a barrister who previously served as Attorney General for England and Wales, was elected secretary-general during a closed meeting at the Malta-hosted Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 12 months ago. She is the first woman and first British citizen to hold the role. 

But sources say problems have been exacerbated since she assumed office on April 1, with her time as secretary-general characterised by bad blood, low morale among employees and concerns about the way the organisation was spending money. "There isn't a good atmosphere about the place," one staff member told Times of Malta. "The word on the grapevine is that redundancies are on the cards."  

Baroness Scotland has faced pressure in the UK media over the past months. Photo: Composite/Commonwealth.org

Over the past weeks, the embattled secretary-general has had to fend off accusations in the UK media that she has played fast and loose with Commonwealth chequebooks.

Documents leaked to UK political website Guido Fawkes revealed that two advisers hired by the Commonwealth were each paid a monthly £15,000 (€17,270) for a three-month period starting in April, the month Baroness Scotland took charge of the organisation.

The Daily Mail twisted the knife by reporting that Baroness Scotland has spent £450,000 (€518,000) in organisational funds renovating a Mayfair apartment, including a £4,000 (€4,700) cupboard.

Those claims were angrily denied by the Baroness, who responded by saying that renovations had 'only' run up to £330,000 (€380,000) and that there was "no extravagance at all." She subsequently said her predecessor as secretary-general, Kamalesh Sharma, had approved the renovation budget prior to her taking office.

A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Theresa May said Mrs May supported the role of secretary-general, but pointedly avoided saying whether the Prime Minister had faith in Baroness Scotland herself. 

Lady Scotland told BBC Radio 4 that she had received a letter from Mrs May expressly stating No. 10 Downing Street had full faith in her work. 

The Commonwealth is an intergovernmental organisation of 52 member states that were mostly territories of the former British Empire. Its secretariat, which Baroness Scotland heads, is funded by contributions made by member states.

Malta is believed to contribute around £200,000 (€232,000) every year to the organisation's coffers.