We all learn from our mistakes, but perhaps it’s better if we can learn from the mistakes of others without having to experience them ourselves first hand. Two major frauds involving charities have been in the news recently. The first involved the British Society of Echocardiography, where the charity’s finance officer stole over £200,000 of the charity’s funds to support his ...

In February CCEW published its long-awaited report into Kids Company, one of the highest profile charity collapses of recent years that attracted considerable publicity, in part due to the considerable amount of funding it had received from central and local government sources. Publication of the report was delayed due to ongoing legal action seeking to disqualify the former tr ...

No one could fail to be moved by events in Ukraine, and many trustees will be considering if the war impacts on their charity in any way and whether there is anything they can or should be doing in response. Both CCEW and OSCR have now published guidance for charity trustees on the key areas that they should be considering in response to the war, including: How best to supp ...

There have been several false dawns during the COVID-19 pandemic, but with the removal of restrictions across the UK it is hoped that finally an end to the disruption to the charity sector caused by the pandemic is now in sight. Research published by CCEW indicates the extent the pandemic has had on the sector. Whilst nearly all charities have been impacted in some way by the ...

There are no changes to the Charity SORP to report in this edition of Charity News, but there has been an announcement of the areas that have been agreed will be considered as part of the next update of the SORP. Drafting of the next version of the SORP won’t start until 2023, but this does give an indication of what charities can expect to see. One of the key issues to be con ...

The CCEW has updated its guidance on charity accounting that unless a charity’s governing documents specify otherwise, handwritten ‘wet’ signatures are not required when the trustees sign the annual report and accounts. Instead electronic signatures can be used, for example a typed signature or an electronic version of a handwritten signature. This updated guidance also applies ...

A new website has been published by Trustee Recruitment Cycle that provides guidance, tools and tips to help charities recruit trustees and improve diversity. Developed by Reach Volunteering, a charity that aims to match organisations with potential volunteers and trustees and in collaboration with the Association of Chairs, Small Charities Coalition and Getting on Board, it ai ...

First issued in 2012, CCEW’s compliance toolkit on charities and terrorism has been updated to keep track with UK counter-terrorism legislative developments that have been made since then. The toolkit provides charities with advice on how that legislation is likely to affect charities and the work they perform, and helps trustees to properly discharge their duties through prov ...

A report published by the UK Parliament’s International Development Committee on progress on tackling the sexual exploitation and abuse of aid beneficiaries, coupled with the CCEW’s own findings, have demonstrated that further work is still required to deliver transformative change. In response the CCEW has alerted international aid charities of what steps they can take to achi ...

CCEW has updated its guidance on faith charities in order to make it easier to find information, including retitling its guidance to ‘managing faith charities as trustees’. The guidance covers a range of issues where the nature of faith charities necessitates additional, specific guidance beyond that provided in the CCEW’s more general guidance for charities. These include iss ...