Annual reporting by charities – when you must submit your charity’s accounts and reports

Registered charities must submit their accounts and reports to the Commission every year through a process known as annual reporting. The accounts and reports submitted are made public via the register of charities, supporting the transparency of each charity and the charity sector as a whole. You can find out more about the information which must be submitted on the Annual reporting page of our website. You can also read FAQs on annual reporting and the annual monitoring return here.

Annual reporting is a legal obligation for registered charities and provides a meaningful way for charities to be more open and accountable to their funders, supporters and the wider public.

As a result of the Act there are differing annual reporting requirements for charities registered before and after the end of May 2019.

Click on the question below to be brought to the answer:

• Why are there differing annual reporting requirements for charities depending on when they were registered?
• What are the annual reporting requirements if I was registered before May 2019?
• What are the annual reporting requirements if I was registered after May 2019?
• I have submitted my annual returns before the legal requirement year – should I have done that?
• Do I still have to prepare accruals accounts if the charity income exceeds the threshold and have an Independent Examination or audit?
• What is the annual reporting deadline? Can I get an extension?
• Will reminders be issued?
• What will happen if I can’t submit my annual monitoring return within the deadline date?

Why are there differing annual reporting requirements for charities depending on when they were registered?

The Act ensures that charity registrations made by staff before the end of May 2019 are now considered legally valid. However, in recent years, when these registrations made by staff were not legally valid the charities were not required to submit their accounts and reports to the Commission every year.

Even so, during this time, some of these charities have continued to report to the Commission annually on a voluntary basis, ensuring their charities were working to be open and transparent via the register of charities.

The voluntary nature of submissions will change with the Act. Under the new law, charities registered before May 2019 are legally required to report to the Commission on an annual basis for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2022.

The annual reporting requirements for charities registered after May 2019 have not changed. They must continue to file their annual accounts and reports, beginning with their first full financial year following their registration date with the Commission.

What are the annual reporting requirements if I was registered before May 2019?

For charities registered before the end of May 2019, the charity trustees have a legal requirement to prepare and submit their annual return, accounts and reports for their first full financial year on or after 01 April 2022 and every year after that, see the table and information below.

If your charity has voluntarily submitted annual reports and accounts to the Commission in previous years, it is good practice, and reflects transparency, to continue to do so for every financial year. This will ensure there are no gaps in the financial information available on your register of charities entry. However, it is not a legal requirement to do this - your first financial period to legally file is for the financial period starting on or after 01 April 2022.

If you are unsure about the charity's accounts and reports that have already been submitted, we would advise you to check your charity's entry on the public register of charities. Once the required annual reporting information is submitted, the accounts and reports will be published on the charity's register entry.

Please see the table below for more information. Guidance in relation to what should be submitted under annual reporting and the annual monitoring return can be found on the Commission’s website here.

What are the annual reporting requirements if I was registered after May 2019?

Charities registered after the end of May 2019 are not affected by the Act. Charity trustees have a legal requirement to prepare and submit their annual return, accounts and reports for their first full financial year after registration and every year after that.

Guidance in relation to what should be submitted under annual reporting and the annual monitoring return can be found on the Commission’s website here.

I have submitted my annual returns before the legal requirement year – should I have done that?

Yes.  The Commission thanks you for the voluntary submission of your annual returns, as submitting accounts and reports in accordance with the regulations is a matter of good practice.

 Do I still have to prepare accruals accounts if the charity income exceeds the threshold and have an Independent Examination or audit?

Please note the requirements in relation to the form and content requirements for your charity accounts and trustees annual report, and the requirement to have these documents independently reviewed, has not changed as a result of the Act. The new law relates only to the financial year in which you are legally required to report to the Commission on.

When your charity is legally required to report to the Commission again, that is for financial periods beginning on or after 1 April 2022, you must comply with the accounting and reporting requirements in relation to the form, content and independent review of your charity accounts.

Guidance in relation to annual reporting and the annual monitoring return can be found on the Commission’s website here.

Although not as a result of the new legislation taking effect, the Commission is currently revising its online annual monitoring return form. This will be introduced in Spring 2022 and will be accompanied by revised guidance which will cover the changes.

What is the annual reporting deadline? Can I get an extension?

The Act’s legal requirement for filing remain the same as before. Each registered charity has ten months from the end of their financial year to submit the required annual monitoring return to the Commission, unfortunately no extension to this date can be given.

However in the current circumstances please note that, until otherwise advised, no charity will be marked as in default on the register of charities if they fail to meet this deadline. We would ask that if charities find themselves in this position that they contact us via email to admin@charitycommissionni.org.uk where possible, to keep us informed of their situation. The use of the ‘in default’ and other flags on the register are under consideration within the Commission following the recent independent review of charity regulation report.

Will reminders be issued?

Yes, when charities are legally required to file their information, the Commission will issue automatic email notifications to highlight to the trustees that their charity's deadline is approaching, and to encourage them to ensure the correct accounts and reports are submitted on time.

It is important to always keep your email address and mobile telephone number up-to-date to ensure you receive these reminders.

What will happen if I can’t submit my annual monitoring return within the deadline date?

It is the collective responsibility of every charity trustee to ensure the charity’s annual return for the financial year is submitted to the Commission on time and in the correct format.

Until otherwise advised, no charity will be marked as in default on the register of charities if they fail to meet this deadline. We would ask that if charities find themselves in this position that they contact us via email to admin@charitycommissionni.org.uk where possible, to keep us informed of their situation.

For more information and support on annual reporting see the Annual reporting section.