31 Jan - Charity annual reporting deadline

All registered charities must submit their examined annual accounts along with the auditor or independent examiner's report, trustees' report and the annual monitoring return within 10 months after their full financial year following charity registration.

The Charity Commission has written to all of the trustees of the 2,050 registered charities which are due to file their annual returns reminding them of their legal duty to comply with this deadline.  

If your charity is due to submit the annual monitoring return, please don't leave it to the last minute as you may not have all the information to hand that you need to submit. If you have any queries regarding the accounting and reporting requirements please do not hesitate to contact the Governance team in NICVA.

What happens if you don't comply?

Your charity will be marked In Default in red on the Register until you submit the required documentation. Please note that if you file your return after the due date, a notice stating that the documents were received late will be marked in red on the public register and will stay there until the following year, even if you're one day late.

The Commission has identified that common errors in previous returns to the charity register have included: accounts not being audited or independently examined; auditor's/examiner's report not included; trustees' report not submitted; or the accounts not properly prepared.  For example, accrual accounts must comply with the Charities SORP and receipts and payments accounts must include a 'Statement of assets and liabilities', even if the charity does not have any property.    

Help and guidance

Please see the Commission's guidance on completing the annual monitoring return to ensure you have all the right information, or indeed if you have already submitted your return, check it to make sure it is complete. It is available along with the Commission's other guidance on accounts and annual reporting below: 

www.charitycommissionni.org.uk/manage-your-charity/annual-reporting/

The Commission has also published a video tutorial on how to complete the annual montoring return which can be accessed here Annual Monitoring Return tutorial video

If you are unsure if your trustees' annual report has everything in it that is required, then please see section 3.1 of the Charity Commission’s guidance on The Trustee Annual Report and Public Benefit Reporting

Speak to one of the Governance team in NICVA if you are unsure.