The Charity Commission
The Charity Commission is today reminding all charities, specifically those with a financial year ending 31 March, to file their annual return or accounts.
On Friday 13 January, 3,584 charities with a last reported income over 250,000 and a financial year ending 31 March 2016 hadnt filed their accounts or annual return. These charities have less than 2 weeks before the 31 January deadline.
Trustees are legally obliged to submit these documents. Failing to file, or filing late, can affect your charitys reputation and jeopardise public trust in charities. The commission takes failure to file very seriously and will take action where necessary.
Once a charity has submitted its documents to us via our online services, they are published on our register of charities. Your charitys profile will be updated overnight and your accounts and income and expenditure figures will be available for all members of the public to view.
Know what you need to submit and when
You have 10 months from the end of your charitys financial year to do this and what you need to submit depends on your annual income.
If your charitys income is:
- under 10,000, then you just need to provide us with your charitys income and expenditure figures the easiest way to do this is via the annual return
- between 10,001 and 25,000, you need to complete an annual return form
- more than 25,001, you must submit an annual return form along with a set of annual accounts as well as an independent examiners or audit report and a trustees annual report (TAR).
Please note that all CIOs need to submit an annual return and annual accounts. If your CIO has an income over 25,000 you also need to submit an independent examiners or audit report along with a Trustees Annual Report.
Top tips to keep on track with your accounting and reporting requirements
- Dont wait until you approach the deadline submit your documents as soon as you can
- Remember submitting this information is the collective responsibility of the entire trustee body, not just the treasurer or secretary
- Ensure all trustees know the password to access the annual return and other online services
- Make sure your charitys trustee details are up-to-date before you complete the annual return
- Record your income and expenditure figures in whole pounds without decimal points or rounding them into thousands
- Make sure you dont mistakenly tick the box that says your accounts are qualified accounts are marked qualified when the independent examiner or auditor has doubts about some aspects of the accounts; it doesnt mean that your accounts have been verified by an independent examiner.
- Ensure the trustees declare any serious incidents in the annual return.
If you have all the information you need, completing your annual return online is straightforward and not time-consuming. However, high demand in the lead up to peak filing times can cause delays to the system; to avoid experiencing this, submit your documents as soon as possible.
If you are experiencing problems completing your annual return form, you can speak to one of our technical advisers on 0300 066 9197. Our helpline is open from 9am to midday Monday to Friday.
Alternatively, you can request a callback via our website.