An updated guide for charity trustees

The Charity Commission issued further guidance for charity trustees in July this year.

The latest guidance clarifies the role of the chair and the treasurer and their specific responsibilities; however it emphasises that all trustees remain jointly responsible for the charity, which includes the charities compliance with statutory accounting and reporting requirements.

All registered charities must provide information annually to the Charity Commission, however the commission requires all charitable incorporated organisations, known in the jargon as CIO’s, to file copies of their trustees’ annual report, accounts and external scrutiny report (audit or independent examiners’ report), along with the annual return. Only unincorporated charities with income over £25,000 have to file this level of information.

Interestingly, 41% of all UK registered charities have income below £10,000 and only 1.2% of charities have income over £5m. This small group attracts 71% of the total annual income of UK registered charities of £68bn.

The audit threshold for charities has also been increased. Only charities with gross income in excess of £1million or those with gross income over £250,000 and gross assets exceeding £3.26 million will now require an audit. These new thresholds came into force for financial years ending on or after 31 March 2015.

If you are unsure or have any questions, please contact Annie Lee. The guidance can be accessed here.