Accounts
Every year you must send to OSCR your:
- Annual report and accounts (this includes your trustees’ annual report)
- External scrutiny report (audit or independent examination), and an
- Online annual return.
Do we have to submit accounts to both regulators?
Yes, the same annual report and accounts must be sent to OSCR and CCEW. The accounts submitted must meet the requirements of legislation in both England and Wales and Scotland.
The format of accounts between the two sets of regulations is very similar, especially for fully accrued accounts. However, there are differences in the external scrutiny requirements and filing deadlines – see the tables below.
Filing of accounts
|
|
Scotland |
England and Wales |
|
Deadline for filing accounts with charity regulator |
9 months from the date of the financial year end |
10 months from the date of the financial year end |
Format of accounts
|
Gross income |
Scotland |
England and Wales |
||
|
Less than £25,000 |
Non-company charities: receipts and payments accounts |
Charitablecompanies: |
Non-company charities: receipts and payments accounts |
Charitable companies: fully accrued accounts |
|
£25,000 - £250,000 |
||||
|
£250,000 and above |
Fully accrued accounts |
Fully accrued accounts |
||
External scrutiny of accounts
Where there is a requirement for audit within a charity’s governing document or any applicable law that sets out this requirement, this takes priority over the income and asset thresholds outlined below.
|
Gross income |
Scotland |
England and Wales |
|
|
Less than £25,000 |
Non-company charities: independent examination by a person with requisite skills (where receipts and payments accounts are prepared) |
Charitable companies: independent examination by a qualified person |
N/A |
|
£25,000 - £250,000 |
Independent examination by a person with requisite skills |
||
|
£250,000 - £500,000 |
Independent examination by a qualified person |
Independent examination by a qualified person |
|
|
Over £500,000 |
Audit |
Independent examination by a qualified person |
|
|
Over £1,000,000 |
Audit |
Audit |
|
|
|
Audit also required where accrued accounts are prepared and gross assets are more than £3.26m for accounting periods |
Audit also required where income is £250,000 or more and gross assets are more than £3.26m |
|
Guidance for auditors and independent examiners of cross-border charities
Independent examiners acting for cross-border charities may wish to refer to the CCEW guidance on independent examination which contains example independent examiner’s reports for cross-border charities. See the guidance from CCEW for more information: