The Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 requires all registered charities to prepare a Trustees' Annual Report. When this part of the legislation comes into force:

• charities with gross income over £500,000 will required to undergo a full audit,
• those under £100,000 should be examined by a suitable independent person
• and those between £100,000 and £500,000 should be examined by an independent examiner.

External assurance offers an opportunity for charity trustees to ensure that their accounts are presented to the public as fairly representing what has happened in the accounting period for the charity.

A review by an independent third party will provide an assurance that the trustees are maintaining proper financial records and that the accounts reflect those records.

Before this guidance comes into force we will provide further guidance on this section of the website.