The government has increased the income threshold for the statutory audit of charity accounts from £500,000 to £1 million. This comes into effect for charity accounts with accounting periods ending 31 March 2015 onwards.

Also where gross assets of a charity exceed £3.26 million then if the income exceeds £500k (from £250k) a statutory audit will still be required.

Charities that can take advantage of the audit threshold increase will still require an Independent Examination if their gross income is over £25,000. With an Independent Examination there is less work involved than a full audit (although there are still Charity Commission Directions that need to be completed/followed as part of examination work). Unlike a full audit the internal financial internal controls operating within the charity would not be checked. Compared to an audit report the examination report will provide a more limited form of security but the report must still, as quoted from guidance below.

‘● confirm that no evidence has been found that suggests certain things have not been done by the charity, such as not maintaining proper accounting records; and

● provide a statement on specific matters that have come to their attention as the result of the examination procedures specified in the Directions.’

Please contact us  for further advice on charity accounts etc.