Displaying 1-30 of 102 results
New handbook guides charity treasurers through evolving challenges
- Sep 2023
- ICAEW Insights
The pandemic, Brexit and the cost-of-living crisis are all having a profound impact on the charity sector. A revised edition of the Charity Treasurer’s Handbook offers updated guidance to chart a course through a charity treasurer’s responsibilities.
The Charity Treasurer: good with numbers, agile leader, star communicator
- Aug 2023
- Kristina Kopic
Marking the publication of the sixth edition of The Charity Treasurer’s Handbook in mid-September, I spoke to its author, ICAEW member Elaine Alsop, about the skills required of charity treasurers, the rising demand for financial literacy on charity boards and where to find guidance and support.
Digital tools and AI bunnies: The Charity Excellence Framework is a one-stop shop to support your charity
- Aug 2023
- Kristina Kopic
The Charity Excellence Framework helps charities ask the right questions, identify priorities and access relevant, trustworthy resources or organisations that can help charities improve, all with the help of artificial intelligence and a big vision.
Registering a charity: Charity structures and governing documents
- Aug 2023
- Daniel Warner
All charities should have a formal legal structure and governing document. Choosing the right structure will contribute to good governance and operation and to the organisation’s long-term success. It is possible to change structures once established, but converting can be complex so making the correct decision from the outset can save a lot of inconvenience.
Charity Fraud Awareness Week: take part in our 2023 charity survey now
- Aug 2023
- Matthew Field
Take an active role and complete the survey this year.
Trustee recruitment and induction: what charities can learn from the latest research
- Aug 2023
- Kristina Kopic
Recently, the Charity Commission published findings from its 2023 research into public trust in charities and trustees' experience of their role. While trustee confidence and public trust in charities remain high, simple changes to trustee recruitment and induction processes could improve governance.
Registering a charity: What we need from your application
- Aug 2023
- Daniel Warner
One of the main challenges faced by the Registration Division is collecting enough information to correctly ascertain whether an organisation is a charity or not. A lack of information can lead to longer handling and turnaround times and increases the likelihood of an application being returned as incomplete. In this article, we hope to set out some of the expectations and minimum standards that the Commission requires from applicants during the registration process.
Caution! Protect your charity from the rising threat of cyber attacks
- Aug 2023
- Kristina Kopic
NCSC warns of increasing attacks, but help is available, including free NSCS Funded Cyber Essentials Programme for certain types of charities to help you keep client data safe.
Letter of Support: charities need to put their own interests before those of their trading subsidiary
- Aug 2023
- Kristina Kopic
In this challenging economic environment, charities with commercial trading operations might face increasing calls to issue letters of support to their trading subsidiaries. Trustees will need to protect the charity’s interests and follow charity law and regulation if they consider issuing a letter of support.
CC14: Refreshed guidance for trustees on investing charity money
- Aug 2023
- Kristina Kopic
The Charity Commission has published its refreshed guidance on charities and investments, aiming to provide greater clarity to trustees about their ability to account for factors such as the environmental impact of investments and reputational risks.
Small charities need you: volunteering as an independent examiner
- Jul 2023
- ICAEW Insights
Charities are always on the lookout for professionals to provide independent examinations – and as long as it’s pro bono and the charity is small, you may not need a practising certificate.
ICAEW guide dispels popular charity sector misconceptions
- Jul 2023
- ICAEW Insights
New ICAEW guidance explodes common myths about charities and offers tips to help build confidence in the charity sector.
Landmark tax ruling: Supreme Court backs Nuffield Health
- Jun 2023
- Kristina Kopic
Court upholds ruling that entitles Nuffield Health, a registered charity, to mandatory business rates relief of 80 percent for a members-only gym in the London Borough of Merton Council.
Registering a charity: Navigating the Commission’s online resources
- Jun 2023
While the Commission’s website is full of helpful guidance on a range of topics, finding information that is useful to your registration application is not always easy or obvious. In this article, we aim to provide a map to help ICAEW members navigate the Commission’s online resources so that you can quickly find the registration guidance you need.
How young volunteers can enhance charity trusteeships
- Jun 2023
- ICAEW Insights
As we celebrate Small Charity Week, we find out why charity trusteeships aren’t just for those at the pinnacle of their working lives and why diverse talent is more sought after than ever before.
HMRC publishes new Charities newsletter
- Jun 2023
- ICAEW
HMRC’s Charities newsletter will be published periodically to update charities and their advisers on upcoming changes relating to tax that may affect them.
Climate charity’s disclosure scheme for plastics
- Jun 2023
- ICAEW Insights
The initiative emerges amid growing calls for mandatory environmental disclosure and UN talks towards a legally binding treaty to end plastics pollution.
Registering as a charity: A view from the Commission
- Jun 2023
- Daniel Warner
We know that ICAEW members can experience very different turnaround times and approaches for their applications to register as a charity. Whether you are a trustee, a volunteer or representing your client, registering as a charity can sometimes be trickier than expected. This new series of articles from the Charity Commission will outline common application problems, simple solutions and handy hints and tips for getting your charity registered. In this first article, we introduce the Registration Team, who we are, what we do and our role in a charity’s lifecycle.
"For the few, not the many…" - HMRC's proposals to tackle abuse of charity tax reliefs
- Jun 2023
- Kevin Russell
At the end of April, HMRC published a Consultation Document proposing changes to charity tax rules to tackle non-compliance. This article gives an overview of the proposals and possible implications for the sector to consider.
Charity Commission delivers updated guidance for charities about internal financial controls
- Jun 2023
- Amie Woods
The Charity Commission has published updated guidance on internal financial controls, also known as CC8, to help charities operating in an increasingly digital world. Internal financial controls are key tools for trustees to use to protect their charity and its resources, which is a key responsibility for all trustees. We have updated our guidance to make it clearer, shorter and ensure it reflects the many ways charities operate today.
Interest rates have risen – does your charity’s bank know?
- Jun 2023
- Heather Lamont
Following the latest announcement by the Bank of England in mid-May, the UK’s official rate of interest is now 4.5%. That is forty-five times greater than the 0.1% which was in place until December 2021, when the Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) began raising rates in its drive to bring inflation under control.
5 leadership roles for Chairs on finance
- Apr 2023
- Rosalind Oakley
The finance team are of course essential on charity finance, whether they are a Treasurer, a Chair of finance committee, a Finance Director or other member of the finance staff and they do much of the heavy lifting. But Chairs need to play their role too – starting with these five key areas of financial leadership.
6 questions to help you manage conflicts of interest
- Apr 2023
- Kristina Kopic
Frequent readers of Charity Commission investigation reports may have noticed a recurring theme: issues often arise when conflicts of interest are not managed effectively by trustees. Here are six questions to help you assess whether your charity has appropriate safeguards in place to manage conflicts of interest.
Legacy fraud – a charity CEO’s cautionary tale
- Apr 2023
- Kristina Kopic
Legacies are a vital source of income for many charities but the lack of control over the administration of the estate can leave charities at risk of fraud. I spoke with charity CEO Stuart Craig about his experience of fighting for a £1.5m stolen legacy and asked for his hard-won advice on how charities can mitigate the risk of legacy fraud.
Why FRED 82 matters to charity finance professionals
- Apr 2023
- ICAEW Insights
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is seeking feedback on draft amendments to FRS 102. Here’s why it’s important for all charity finance professionals to make their voices heard before the consultation deadline of 30 April 2023.
New report confirms charity leaders fear for future
- Mar 2023
- Stephen Cahill
Research by Cranfield Trust highlights the devastating impact of the cost-of-living crisis on frontline charities in Scotland.
Charity Annual Return 2023 – a closer look at the new questions
- Mar 2023
- Kristina Kopic
The who, what and why of the new questions.
Spring Budget highlights for the charity sector
- Mar 2023
- Kristina Kopic
In his Spring Budget speech, the Chancellor praised the brilliant work that third sector organisations are doing to help people in need. Will the additional funding for charities be enough to fill the financial gaps of struggling charities?
Charity regulatory roundup – February 2023
- May 2023
- Kristina Kopic
This month, we’re looking at some of the regulatory updates from February, including a guide to the Charity Annual Return 2023, a reminder of the Commission’s 5-minute guides for charity trustees and a reminder to donate safely to emergency relief appeals. We’ll also examine the latest OSCR news.
What can charities expect from the Budget?
- Feb 2023
- Richard Bray
The chancellor has announced that the Spring Budget 2023 will be held on 15 March 2023. With many charities facing unprecedented challenges due to the cost-of-living crisis, Richard Bray, Chair of the Charity Tax Group and a member of ICAEW’s Charity Committee, is asking what charities can expect from the Spring Budget and outlines three key proposals.
Displaying 1-30 of 102 results