Displaying 1-30 of 121 results
Planning for uncertainty: five tips for accountants
- Apr 2025
- ICAEW Insights
Struggling to plan growth or forecasts during the turbulent Trump tariffs? ICAEW offers practical support to help finance practitioners steer their organisations through uncertainty.
Charities SORP 2026: key points from the live consultation
- Apr 2025
- Kristina Kopic
The consultation on the Exposure Draft of the 2026 Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) is now open, inviting stakeholders to provide feedback on proposed updates to charity accounting and reporting.
Learning from our first Board Shadowing Scheme at the John Ellerman Foundation
- Apr 2025
- Sufina Ahmad
Setting up and then delivering John Ellerman Foundation’s Board Shadowing Scheme has taken some time. We first started thinking about the idea of a Board Shadowing Scheme in 2021. We eventually launched in February 2024. This gap wasn’t due to a lack of interest in the work, but more so due to our desire to ensure that as a small team and Board we had the capacity and capabilities to deliver a Board Shadowing Scheme that was meaningful and impactful. If we had rushed, we risked this being a one-off diversity initiative that could be tokenistic and performative.
2025 Charity Digital Skills Report
- Mar 2025
- Zoe Amar
Does your charity need support and funding for digital transformation? Are you exploring your next steps with AI? Share your insights in the 2025 Charity Digital Skills Report survey! Your participation will help us map sector wide digital trends and identify where organisations like yours need support.
Cornerstones for charity reporting
- Feb 2025
- Daniel Chan
It is important for charities to communicate what they do, why they do it and the difference they make. The trustees’ annual report is a key part of a charity’s suite of communications and effective reporting helps to build trust.
Academy finances plummet as removal of funding limits growth
- Feb 2025
- David Butler
The state of Academy Trust finances continues to be squeezed, with nearly three times as many Trusts now making an in-year deficit compared to just three years ago. The larger Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) are the most financially efficient Trusts, but the government has removed funding that supports their growth.
Trustee skills key to tackling charity governance challenges
- Feb 2025
- ICAEW Insights
Ensuring your charity’s trustees have the right balance of skills and experience will go a long way towards bolstering governance.
Charity Conference insights: the Five Big Cs of 2025
- Feb 2025
- Kristina Kopic
On 23 and 24 January, we held our two-day virtual Charity Conference. Nearly 1,500 of you joined us and we were thrilled with your engagement and feedback. Despite a varied mix of technical updates, lively panel sessions and thought-provoking keynotes, certain themes repeated throughout the Conference, summarised as the Five Big Cs: Charities SORP, Confidence, Collaboration, Cash deposits and Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
Charities brace for Economic Crime Act impact
- Jan 2025
- ICAEW Insights
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act has corporate criminal fraud and economic crime in its sights. But the impact on charities is not to be underestimated. We examine the implications.
New guidance addresses charity investment governance issues
- Jan 2025
- ICAEW Insights
Sector-developed best practice aims to help charities navigate potential conflict between their investments and charitable objectives.
Charity finance 2030 – transforming your finance function with digital tools
- Jan 2025
- Kristina Kopic
Modern finance systems are already transforming the work of charity accountants and solving time-consuming internal challenges for charities. The increased integration of artificial intelligence (AI) provides an exciting outlook for finance professionals who want to focus on value-adding activities.
Has your charity’s governance kept pace with its evolution?
- Jan 2025
- Kristina Kopic
In a session at our Small Charities event in October, Nick Sladden, Partner and Head of Charities at RSM, talked about the organisational life cycle of a charity, based on Larry E. Greiner’s article, ‘Evolution and Revolution as Organizations Grow’. Drawing on his own experience as a trustee, Sladden adapted Greiner’s model to small charities. Can you identify which life cycle stage your charity is in and how well the board has adapted its governance processes?
Avoid these governance pitfalls: lessons from an Interim Manager
- Jan 2025
- Kristina Kopic
Good governance is the backbone of any successful charity, yet trustees of small charities face challenges in their roles. Whether it’s unclear roles, inadequate financial oversight or poor communication among board members, many pitfalls are avoidable with the right awareness and practices.
CLGs, CIOs, CICs – understanding legal structures
- Jan 2025
- Kristina Kopic
Choosing the right legal structure is crucial for charities and social businesses. In a recent Charity Community webinar, David Alcock from law firm Anthony Collins explained how to choose the most suitable legal form for a purpose-led organisation. This article outlines some of the advantages, disadvantages and key considerations for popular incorporated structures.
Preparing for 2025 budgetary constraints
- Dec 2024
- Kristina Kopic
From 6 April 2025, Employer National Insurance (ER NI) contributions will increase from 13.8% to 15%. While intended to bolster public funds, this measure poses significant challenges for the charity sector, which already operates under financial constraints. This article explores the implications for charities, highlights the sector’s response and offers guidance on how charities can prepare and respond to potential financial difficulties.
ICAEW Past President Sir Brian Jenkins, 1935-2024: a force for change
- Dec 2024
- ICAEW Insights
ICAEW President in 1985/86, Sir Brian Jenkins was an important figure in the profession, from pioneering IT in audit to providing his expertise to the charity sector.
Lessons learned: trustee insights on preventing and responding to fraud in charities
- Dec 2024
- Louisa Burton
As a PhD Researcher from the University of Portsmouth, I interviewed officers of small charities who had experienced fraud for a recent study. These individuals shared valuable insights about how trustees can protect their charities against fraud.
Building resilience through community
- Dec 2024
- Kristina Kopic
While we have a lot to celebrate in the Charity Community (more on that later!), I’m all too aware how difficult this year has been for many charities. Ongoing global conflicts have intensified the need for humanitarian aid, while also driving up energy and commodity prices. Domestically, inflation has increased operating costs, making it increasingly difficult for charities to balance their books as they attempt to meet the demand for food banks, shelter and mental health services.
Preparing for the next Charities SORP: practical steps you can take now
- Dec 2024
- Kristina Kopic
The next iteration of the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) is on the horizon, bringing with it some significant updates aligned with the revised Financial Reporting Standard (FRS 102). These changes will impact key areas such as revenue recognition and lease accounting. While we don’t expect the consultation for the new SORP to be available before early 2025, charities can take proactive steps now to ensure they are well prepared for the transition. This article highlights the most significant changes and offers some practical tips on how charities can start to prepare.
Warning for charities with land across the South East of England
- Dec 2024
- Kristina Kopic
The Charity Commission has sent this alert on behalf of the Environment Agency: criminals are currently targeting charities that own land across the South East of England.
Celebrate trusteeship: enter the Charity Governance Awards
- Dec 2024
- Renée LaDue
The Charity Governance Awards are now accepting entries. Good governance should be celebrated; these awards aim to recognise and reward charities and trustee boards achieving excellence by shining a light on the people who make change possible day after day and showcasing the stories that demonstrate how effective governance can transform lives.
Banks: step up for charities, CAF Bank chief urges
- Nov 2024
- ICAEW Insights
From difficulties opening accounts to having them closed unexpectedly, the charity sector’s experience of banking continues to fall short. CAF Bank CEO and ICAEW member Alison Taylor explains why there’s more than reputation at stake.
Charities face persistent internal fraud threat, survey finds
- Nov 2024
- ICAEW Insights
Misappropriation of cash or assets by staff and volunteers and payment diversion fraud remain the most common types of fraud committed. A new report recommends robust internal controls and an anti-fraud culture.
Free resources: identify cyber vulnerabilities and create a tailored action plan for your charity
- Nov 2024
- Kristina Kopic
In today’s digital age, charities are increasingly reliant on technology to manage donations, communicate with stakeholders, and deliver services. However, this growing reliance on online systems also exposes them to significant cyber threats. Finance professionals and trustees play a crucial role in ensuring their organization’s cybersecurity, yet many lack the resources or expertise to address vulnerabilities effectively.
‘A Fundamental Reset’ – how can civil society and civil servants start afresh?
- Nov 2024
- Kristina Kopic
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged to fundamentally reset the government’s relationship with civil society and tackle social and economic challenges in a trusted partnership. In this article, we look at the government’s plans, how you can get involved and how the Autumn Budget has affected these plans.
Why a charity’s survival may depend on its accounting system
- Nov 2024
- Hubert Hutchinson
Is your charity operating with a ‘blood, sweat and tears finance function’, which marginally meets the informational requirements of internal customers and legal reporting requirements, but do so with great pain and effort? If this sounds familiar, then it might be time to consider upgrading your accounting systems. This is crucially important because the quality of a charity’s accounting and reporting is directly linked to its future sustainability.
Trustees’ Week: why volunteering your time is a two-way street
- Nov 2024
- ICAEW Insights
As part of Trustees’ Week 2024 (4-8 November) Sophie Hamlet, an audit manager at Grant Thornton, explains why her motivation for being a charity trustee isn’t just about giving something back.
2024-25 CPD course for charity trustees now available
- Nov 2024
- Kristina Kopic
ICAEW members who volunteer as charity trustees must complete training each year that is specific to those duties, under ICAEW's CPD regulations. The Charity Community provides you with many cost-free CPD options, including our annual CPD course for charity trustees. Find out what we cover on the 2024-25 course, where to find it and how this differs from our Trustee Training Modules.
What’s in it for charities? A look at the Autumn Budget 2024
- Nov 2024
- Lourens du Plessis
After much of the Budget was trailed ahead of time (to the chagrin of the Speaker of the House of Commons), there was a risk that the Budget would not contain any provisions not yet floated in the media. The Chancellor did manage to spring a couple of surprises but, sadly, no great relief or support specifically for charities was announced.
Charity Conference 2025 – adapting to change in challenging financial times
- Oct 2024
- Kristina Kopic
In difficult times, it can be a radical but essential act to take time out of your busy calendar to step back, gain perspective and re-focus your efforts as a charity finance professional or volunteer. Kickstart the year with up to 8 hours of verifiable CPD with our virtual flagship Conference for the not-for-profit sector.
Displaying 1-30 of 121 results