CPDStore Ireland

The charity sectors in the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland are vast and growing segments of economic activity with substantial assets at their disposal. Their activities are pervasive, often highly visible and can include fundraising, grant making and trading. Regardless of their size, charities play a significant and vital role in society, often serving and helping those who are most disadvantaged, marginalised or helpless. Increasingly charities are used to deliver public services to tackle social exclusion. 

The growth in the size and influence of the sector, combined with several highly publicised scandals, has led to increased sector visibility and public scrutiny, with the need for the sector to operate transparently and discharge accountability being widely articulated. A key argument is that good accounting and reporting underpins good accountability, good accountability supports the building of trust between the charity and its stakeholders, and trust is essential to ensure the continuing health of the charity (including its ability to access funding). Conversely, poor accounting and reporting undermines accountability, undermined accountability damages trust, and damaged trust weakens a charity (and makes it more difficult to access funding). 

The charity regulators in each of the jurisdictions across the UK and Ireland have been charged with enhancing charity accountability and transparency, and good accounting and reporting is a key aspect of this. A charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of an annual report and financial statements which, together, are generally recognised as key documents in the discharge of accountability to external users. 

In broad terms, ‘FRS 102’ is the financial reporting standard used in the UK and Ireland, with the ‘FRS 102 Charities SORP’ providing guidance for charities on how to apply FRS 102 when preparing their accounts. 

The FRS 102 Charities SORP:

• Sets out how charities should apply accounting standards to their particular activities and transactions;

• Explains how charities should present and disclose their activities and funds within their financial statements; and 

• Describes the content of the trustees’ annual report which accompanies the financial statements. 

Ciaran Connolly will cover the following topics during this webinar:
 

• Early problems identified with charity reporting

• Development and evolution of the charity SORP

• Type of accounts that a charity should prepare under charity law

• The FRS 102 Charities SORP – key highlights, common pitfalls and impact reporting

• The future direction of charity reporting

After attending this presentation, participants should have an appreciation of the:

• Early problems identified with charity reporting;

• Development and evolution of the charity SORP; 

• Charity annual reporting requirements; and

• Requirements of the FRS 102 Charities SORP with respect to the Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts, including impact reporting.

This presentation should be of interest to those involved in charity accounting and reporting, including trustees, charity accountants and practitioners.

Course Level: Foundation / Intermediate