Charity

If you are a newly established charitable organisation, or you have just joined a charity with accounting responsibilities – you may be wondering whether a charity audit or independent examination is necessary. In this article, our ICAEW trained charity accountant [enter name] explains the difference between a charity audit and an independent examination, and in which circumstances you need to arrange them. What is a charity audit? Charity auditing is part of legislation for the Companies Act 2006 and Charities Act 2011, and they are mandatory practise for organisations with either: An annual income of £1mil+; An annual income of [...]

What happens during a charity audit? For charities with a gross income exceeding £1m (or £250k + assets over £3.26m), a charity audit is mandatory practice under the Charities Act 2006. Although charity audits are regularly called upon for large high-street organisations, charities of smaller scope have them if specifically detailed within the trustees’ annual report. Furthermore, an independent examination may be required if a charity generates between £25k-£1m in annual income, but more on independent examinations later. Preparing for a charity audit Once a charity has established whether they require a charity audit, the first step is to prepare [...]

If you are a newly formed charity, or if you have recently joined a charity at a senior level, you may be wondering whether you require an audit by law. What are the charity audit requirements? Though high-street charities with hundreds of branches most commonly require routine audits, smaller charities are not exempt from them. To pass the threshold of requiring an audit as laid out by the government’s Charity Commission, your charity will be: 1. A large charity with a high turnover; 2. Or a charity with a trustee who has specifically requested an audit; 3. Or a charity [...]