Scottish independence:White Paper like "manifesto" ALEX Salmond's white paper for independence is a "political manifesto" rather than a "business plan," according to the chief executive of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. Atholl Duncan said accountants wanted to see more figures backing up the argument for independence and claimed that a lack of detail raised many questions about the SNP's prospectus for independence. Speaking at a Scotsman conference titled "The Independence White Paper: A business plan for Scotland?," Mr Duncan said: "Accountants want to see the evidence. They want to see the numbers; it's in their DNA. So as a political document, the White Paper may be deemed by some to be excellent. That's for others to judge. But it's not a business plan, it's a political manifesto. He questioned central SNP proposals such as growing the economy by cutting corporation tax. There is "political wriggle-room" in statements about a "timetable" to cutting the rate by up to 3p, told an audience of business people gathered at the National Galleries for Scotland on Edinburgh's Mound The White Paper says this will create 27,000 jobs, but lower corporate taxes are not necessarily the main driver. There are many other factors which influence corporate decision making about where people will locate and create jobs. That's why we see a corporate tax rate of 30 per cent in Germany and yet it's one of the UK's main competitors for inward investment. While lower corporate taxes are a good thing, they don't on their own create thousands of jobs. It is not certain that the EU or rest of UK would "allow" such a cut in a currency union, he said. "Our conclusion is that the White Paper gives us more detail but perhaps, as you'd expect from a document of this size, it raises many, many new questions," he said. Tavish Scott: SNP's White Paper drops a clanger Key questions on independence White Paper answered MoD sinks White Paper plan Subscribe to The Scotsman Apple and Android tablet apps Our apps offer the latest news throughout the day as well as complete electronic copies of the newspaper. The apps - which are available on Amazon Appstore, Apple iTunes and Google Play , have been designed to offer readers a dynamic way to keep up to date whether at home or on the move. They feature full articles, videos and picture galleries plus the ability to browse through complete downloadable editions of the paper which can also be read offline later. Print subscribers of The Scotsman are entitled to any version of the app to suit their device as part of their subscription. Alternatively readers can subscribe to the app through the app stores, and will get 30 days free access.