Charity Commission cracking down on late reporting
Howard Lake | 1 October 2003 | News
The Commission’s ‘Accounts Aren’t Optional’ campaign is designed to tackle the failure of one in three charities to submit their accounts and annual returns on time.
According to the Charity Commission’s latest figures, 35% of charities are failing to return their accounts and annual returns on time. Charities with incomes of more than £10,000 are required to submit their return to the Commission within 10 months of the charity’s financial year end.
The campaign is targeting trustees, reminding them of their duty in this regard.
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Simon Hart, Charities and Education Partner at accountancy firm Baker Tilly’s Watford office said: “Although many charities already adequately meet their filing requirements, Trustees need always to be ready and able to supply the right information at the right time: they need to ensure that they allow enough time to resolve audit queries and prepare accounts that comply with the Statement of Recommended Practice ‘Accounting and Reporting by Charities’. The Charity Commission has said that persistent failure to file could trigger an investigation and ultimately prosecution, so it is imperative that Trustees comply.”
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.