Quarterly News

Charities Act 2006 – Where are we now?

The Charities Act 2006 (CA06) was passed by parliament back in November 2006 and, while some of its provisions came into effect in February 2007, more come into effect this year. The Act principally affects charities in England and Wales and has been welcomed by the Charity Commission, the regulator of the English and Welsh charity sector, as it aims to help reduce some of the bureaucracy that charities face.

There have been four commencement orders issued to date, which bring the sections of CA06 into force. One particular area of interest is the levels at which charities face external scrutiny, either as an audit or an examination, as these have now been increased.

The new thresholds

There are now similar thresholds for charities that are limited companies and those that are not.

Broadly, if a charity has an annual income of less than £500,000 it will not be required to have an audit. This will specifically depend on whether the charity is a limited company or not, on levels of assets or annual income and whether a charity's governing document requires an audit. There are also specific limits for groups. Of course, an audit can be requested where a charity considers that the external scrutiny that this brings is beneficial.

Accounting regulations for charities were changed in Scotland from April 2006. From an external scrutiny perspective, while differences remain, the legislative requirements applying in the two regimes are now much closer.

If you are a trustee of a small charity we would be pleased to discuss these changes in more detail with you.

---

Current News Highlights

Key tax issues 2008/09

Now that 2008/09 is in full swing a reminder of some key developments on capital acquisitions and disposals is timely.

Flexing the family

From April 2009 the right to request flexible working is extended to parents of children up to the age of 16.

• back |
• top