• Charity Finance delivered a report in September assessing how well charities did in lockdown. The key take aways;

• ·       9 out of 10 charities expect their ability to deliver their objectives impaired;
• ·       Charities face a possible £10bn funding gap in the next six months with smaller charities and cultural places/event based charities suffering disproportionately;
• ·       Charities with incomes of less than £500,000 were more likely to expect reductions of over 50% they are less likely to have been able to take advantage of furlough schemes or to be eligible for funding grants, or to have substantial reserves.
• ·       Larger charities have been able to draw down on invested income and have furloughed up to 90% of their payroll; but those dependent on local authority grants and contracts are faced also with the threat of local authority cuts: 5-8 local authorities are threatening bankruptcy, and none have committed to the increase in last year’s National Living Wage.
• ·       Furlough has caused issues for operational finance: management information isn’t up to date, transactions haven’t been posted for months, and budget holders are often lacking in information and direction. In particular, costs of overheads need to be recalculated as they may need to be re-costed for services to break even at this time.
• ·       Grant making charities are receiving ever greater calls on their resources: this will include fraudulent claims: ensure that due diligence mechanisms are in place, check that there has been a strategic review prior to the application which has a clear way forward in the crisis and does not simply extend pre-Covid planning; ensure that furloughed staff are not being used to deliver outcomes and are not part of a claim against a pre-Covid awarded grant. Some of your grants may be set up to be drawn down cash: ensure that this is available and that you are monitoring any increase in demand that might shorten the period for which funding was intended.

• 
  

• Charity Finance’s October included a report on transparent reporting. This remains poor, with particular concerns around:
  

• ·       While risk registers were in place, several charities did not discuss how risks were to be mitigated.
• ·       Reserves: most charities surveyed had a brief reserves policy which quoted working capital and income risks as a reason to hold reserves; although most explained the reason for their target reserves, many did not explain how they intended to achieve this target.

Manchester Community Central (Macc) is Manchester's equivalent to BVSC. They have recently published a fascinating report, entitled No Going Back, in which Chief Executives from 22 VCS organisations reflect on their experiences of C-19.  Read the Report.

ACIE Training in 2020-2021

Go to: https://www.acie.org.uk/events for all bookings.

Building your Independent Examination skills.

This course uses a case study, practical exercises and brings in your experience covering key areas of concern in Independent Examination:

·       Materiality and risk

·       Adequacy of records

·       Vouching & analytical review

·       Qualification of reports

We will look at the above areas of concern alongside the ACIE workbook so you understand how this resource can support your IE practice.  We are aiming to build confidence in your practice.

Friday, 13 November 20

Thursday, 21 January 21

Wednesday, 17 March 21

Thursday, 15 July 21

Wednesday, 9 December 20

Tuesday, 15 December 20

Tuesday, 9 February 21

Friday, 12 February 21

Tuesday, 13 April 21

Thursday, 22 April 21

Friday, 21 May 21

Tuesday, 15 June 21

Wednesday, 23 June 21

Tuesday, 20 July 21

Workshops:

Trading, Taxation and VAT                                                 Tuesday, 6 October 20

Governance and Charity Law         Tuesday,                                Tuesday, 3 November 20

Webinars:

Fraud and Independent Examination                           Tuesday, 29 June 21How to Read a Set of Accounts for Independent Examination                                                                                              Monday, 10 May 21

Receipts and Payments                                                    Sunday, 21 February 21

Reserves and Covid                                                           Wednesday, 28 October 20

Serious Incident Reporting                                             Monday, 19 April 21

Taking on a New Client.                                                   Thursday, 18 March 21

Thinking of Becoming an Independent Examiner?     Monday, 14 December 20

VAT changes                                                                       Thursday, 26 November 20

Training Conferences:

Scotland, 26 August 2021

England and Wales, 28 October 2021

Booking at: https://www.acie.org.uk/events

Please direct all enquiries to Admin@acie.org.uk

Russell Hargreaves at Charity Finance reports that low levels of reserves meant some of the UK’s largest charities were “ill-prepared” for the impact of Covid-19, according to analysis by the accountancy firm BDO. The charities in the review held an average of two months of free reserves going into the pandemic, compared to three months when BDO last conducted the survey in 2017, the research says. The analysis, which looked at the finances of the 50 largest UK charities by income, also finds that as many as one in three could be breaking regulatory rules by not reporting their level of free reserves in their annual accounts. - See more.

Struggling charities are being bolstered by an outpouring of public support with one in five people giving to good causes in the last three months.

Read More: 

04 August 2020 by Stephen Delahunty

Just 4 per cent of small international development charities have been eligible for government support, network says

Dozens of UK charities working in international development are expected to close over the next 12 months as a result of the Government’s £2.9 billion global development budget cut, an aid network has warned.

A survey of 53 small international development charities with annual incomes of between £5,000 and £1m, carried out by the Small International Development Charities Network (SIDCN) in June this year, found that despite nearly three quarters (72 per cent) of respondents seeing demand for their services increase, funding opportunities were rapidly disappearing.

Read More

Don Bawtree and Peter Lewis give some advice on adapting financial reporting to deal with the issues caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. - See more.

Advice on income Accounting:

• Grants
• Donated Services
• Waivers
• Income conversions

Expenditure: Furloughed staff costs

Liabilities

Assets

Charity finances are stagnating following falls recording in the first months of the coronavirus lockdown, according to ACEVO.

The charity chief executives organisation has linked up with the Centre for Mental Health to ask charities in England and Wales how their finances have changed in recent months. Read More.

The most recent advice from the Charity Commission is that IEs and Auditors should not regard loss of income per se as a serious incident, but that if it leads to an inability to provide services to vulnerable beneficiaries, or results in insolvency or a high likelihood of insolvency over the next 12 months it is a serious and reportable incident.

 A new post within a well-established Accountancy Practice with a significant Charities portfolio , this is a part-time position attracting 15 hours to be worked as agreed.

To support the Director in the Charities / Not for Profit sector (NFP) .  Experience of  all aspects of Charity accounts and regulation , VAT, and Gift Aid.  Understanding of other areas of the NFP sector including Community Benefit Societies , Community Interest companies and similar organisations.

Customer liaison point for new clients throughout the practice.

Fully conversant with Microsoft Word and  Excel.  Working with colleagues towards the end product and compliance.  Excellent organisational and customer service skills, good verbal and written communication, day to day support to colleagues and Directors.

Further details see www.kmaccountants.co.uk or info@kmaccountants.co.uk

Charity Times Leadership Conference 2020
Making Powerful Choices in a Changing Environment

05 October 2020

The Waldorf Hilton Hotel

The annual Charity Times Conference returns in 2020, but not as you know it. Following the success of last year’s theme, The Future of Charity Leadership, the brand new Charity Times Leadership Conference seeks to continue the discussion around influential leadership, offering interactive workshops, case studies, panel discussions and plenty of practical advice on the tools needed to be an inspirational leader.

Whether you’re a chief executive, chair, trustee, director or head of department, the decisions you make have the power to influence your charity’s income, culture, reputation and impact. Failure to make the right decisions at the right time can put your charity at risk, but making strong decisions within an appropriate timeframe can lead to a surge in support, an increase in income, a stronger reputation and a happier workforce – sometimes in as little as a day. Join us for this interactive one-day conference to hear from some of the sector’s most inspirational leaders and to learn how to make more impactful decisions in a world of unprecedented choice.

Topics include:
- Reputation and ethics: the power of saying no
- Wellbeing: managing stress in the workplace
- Technology: are you wasting money on the wrong tools?
- Crisis avoidance: using transparent reporting
- Safeguarding: putting measures in place to protect your charity
- Investment: the risks are changing – but is your strategy?
- Culture: empowerment and allowing others to make the big decisions
- Governance: to merge or not to merge?
- Trusteeship: managing board time more effectively

For the latest news and updates follow us @CharityTimes #CTconference