In response to the COVID-19 pandemic the UK’s regulators all announced measures designed to ease the administrative burden on charities and provided extra time to file their annual reports. As we slowly return to a more normal way of operating, these measures are being withdrawn and charities will need to ensure that wherever possible they report in accordance within the usual ...

There are no changes to the Charity SORP to report on in this edition of Charity News, but those preparing charity accounts might be interested to know that the model accounts published by the SORP Committee have been updated. These provide examples of how charity accounts should be presented in order to comply with the latest reporting requirements for charities, including the ...

Although we now have a roadmap out of lockdown, it looks likely that charities will need to hold AGMs on a closed basis until at least 17 May and possibly until at least 21 June. Affected charities may find it helpful to refer to latest guidance published by The Chartered Governance Institute (ICSA) on the holding of remote meetings, which although primarily aimed at business s ...

Late last year the NCVO published an updated version of the Charity Governance Code as part of its commitment to review the Code every three years to ensure that it reflects any changes in society. Following consultation, two key areas of the Code have been updated. Firstly, the focus of Principle 3: Integrity has been broadened. Previously it was primarily concerned with prot ...

A new helpsheet has been published by CCEW, the Fraud Advisory Panel and others that aims to highlight some of the key areas where charities may be vulnerable to fraud as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. It identifies the following headline risks for 2021 to be aware of: Cybercrime Insider (or Staff/Volunteer) fraud Procurement fraud Financial statement fraud. T ...

CCEW has published a series of simple, easy to understand ‘5-minute’ guides designed to help trustees understand their responsibilities for the management of the charities they are involved with. Five guides have been published, which cover the basic requirements of: Financial oversight Achieving a charity’s purposes Good decision making Addressing conflicts of interest ...

For many reasons the last year has been unique, and the impact on people’s mental health and wellbeing has been considerable. This is especially so for those working in the charity sector, where the focus will often be on trying to help others that are reliant on the charity for the help and support they need. This can often lead to very stressful situations, to the detriment o ...

The Chancellor delivered his Budget speech on 3 March, with an attempt to balance the need to continue providing support to those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, whilst raising taxes to meet the substantial costs that have been incurred in doing so. There were a number of measures announced that will be of interest to charities, including confirmation that the Coronavirus Jo ...

For over a year now we have been working under exceptional circumstances as the country battles with the COVID-19 pandemic. The success of the UK’s vaccination programme though has contributed to the government’s roadmap for coming out of lockdown and returning to a more normal state, although it must be stressed that the situation is a fluid one and these plans are subject to ...

This new piece of legislation which received Royal Assent on 25 June 2020 and the provisions it contains provide an extension to the deadline for filing accounts and certain other documents at Companies House. As well as these measures the Act also included a temporary move allowing greater flexibility for the holding of company meetings that would be relevant for those charit ...