Accounting for friendly, mutual and co-operative societies

Useful links

Information and guidance

Practice Note 20 (Revised): The Audit of Insurers in the United Kingdom
FRC, January 2017
This Practice Note replaces PN24 on the audit of friendly societies. It aims to help auditors apply auditing standards to specific industry sectors and includes illustrative auditor's reports.

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Mutual societies
Information on registering as and recording documents for mutual societies with the FCA. This includes:

• new industrial and provident societies
• existing industrial and provident societies
• friendly societies and certain other types of mutual societies registered under the Friendly Societies Act 1974
• building societies
• credit unions.

Registered societies
Registration forms, notes and guidance for all societies registered under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014. This includes societies formerly known as industrial and provident societies.

Mutuals societies forms
Relevant forms and notes for co-operative and community benefit societies, friendly societies, credit unions and building societies.

Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014
Concise guide on the CCBS Act covering who is affected, what the Act does, what societies registered before 1 August 2014 need to do, and information for societies registering from 1 August 2014.

The Legislative Reform Order (Industrial & Provident Societies and Credit Unions) Order 2011 (LRO)
Factsheet on the legislation reform order which took effect in January 2012. The order amends the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965 (IPSA 65) and the Friendly and Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1968 (FIPSA 68) and has accounting implications.

Friendly Societies an introduction
Find out about friendly societies: the services they offer, how to register, yearly fees, reporting requirements and how to change a society’s details.

HM Treasury

Increasing audit thresholds for co-operatives and community benefit societies
Consultation launched in August 2017 on government proposals to change audit exemption thresholds. The consultation documents include draft legislation and a comparison of the current audit treatment for societies and companies.

Industrial and Provident Societies: growth through co-operation
Report updated in December 2013 on the outcome of the consultation in 2013 on proposed reforms. The report gives an overview of the UK Industrial and Provident Society sector and proposed amendments to legislation.

Regulatory issues for Industrial and Provident Societies
Consultation documents published in September 2004 on locked assets and increasing the audit threshold for non-charitable societies.

Updating the accounting framework for friendly societies
Consultation documents published in August 2005 that look at how the EU Regulation on International Accounting Standards and the Modernisation Directive should be handled for friendly societies.

Legislation

Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014
Full text of the Act. It consolidates previous legislation relating to industrial and provident societies including the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965, the Friendly and Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1968 and Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2003.

Deregulation (Friendly Societies Act 1992) Order 1996
Full text of the Statutory Instrument 1996 No. 1188.

Financial Services and Markets Act 2000: Part XXI
Full text of the section of the Act dealing with mutual societies, which includes friendly societies.

Friendly and Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1968 (Audit Exemption) (Amendment) Order 2006
Full text of the Statutory Instrument 2006 No. 265.

Friendly Societies Act 1992
Full text of the Act.

Organisations

Association of Financial Mutuals (AFM)
Comprehensive website featuring key facts, consultation responses and directory of members.

Co-operatives UK
National body working to promote and develop co-operative enterprises. The website provides guidance, codes of best practice and a directory of co-operatives.

Online articles

The Library provides access to leading business, finance and management journals. These journals are available to logged-in ICAEW members, ACA students and other entitled users subject to suppliers' terms of use. 

Articles are available to logged-in ICAEW members, ACA students and other entitled users.

Articles and books in the Library collection

• View a list of articles and books in our collection on friendly societies
• View a list of articles and books in our collection on community benefit societies
• View a list of articles and books in our collection on industrial and provident societies

To find out how you can borrow books from the Library please see our guide to book loans. You can obtain copies of articles or extracts of books and reports by post, fax or email through our document supply service.