Annual reporting: why it matters

For the first time in several years, almost 7,000 charities will be required to submit their accounts and reports to the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland during 2024-25.

In our latest blog post, Rossa Keown, Head of Compliance and Enquiries at the Commission, explores what this means for charities and highlights the importance of openness and transparency within the charity sector.

Rossa Keown, Head of Compliance and Enquiries

The Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 reintroduced compulsory annual reporting for all registered charities in Northern Ireland.

The law states all registered charities are required to file their accounts and reports with the Commission, starting with their first full financial year beginning on or after 1 April 2022 and every year thereafter. This is known as annual reporting, with the charity’s accounts and reports published on the register of charities. The information must be filed within ten months of the end of the charity’s financial year.

While a financial year running from 1 April to 31 March would be the most common, not all charities have this reporting period. For example, around 2,000 registered charities have financial years running from 1 January to 31 December, giving them a filing deadline of 31 October.

However, regardless of what the charity’s financial year is, for the first time in a few years all registered charities will be required to file their accounts and reports with the Commission at some point in 2024-25. The only exception to this rule will be recently registered charities, which will begin annual reporting following their first full financial year after the date of their registration.

This can seem complicated, particularly perhaps for smaller charities with only a few trustees working to run the charity as well as keep on top of the various laws and legal duties.

We here, at the Commission, are aware that running a charity can be challenging at the best of times, and even more so now with the increasing pressures of the cost-of-living crisis and ongoing budget cuts.

We cannot get away from the fact that annual reporting is a legal requirement, but we are working to provide the guidance and support that charities need to ensure they submit the right information, on time. For example, in recent years we have produced a practical, ten-minute guide setting out what you need to have to hand. There is also an online video, giving an insight into the annual reporting process. You can find these support tools and more on the Commission’s website here.

Annual reporting plays a vital role in allowing charities to highlight to the public, including their own supporters, that they are open, transparent and trustworthy. Each entry on the register of charities includes the charity’s accounts and reports, as submitted, for the previous three years. This offers the public a library of information on each charity, including the activities they carry out along with their financial information.

However, the onus is on charities to make the most of annual reporting. To get information on their challenges, their achievements and all the excellent work they have completed, out there for the world to see.

Alternatively, if they file late or fail to submit their annual return, the public will be able to see that too, and they may start to ask why - is the charity hiding something, or do they simply not care?

Taking this all into account, the Commission encourages that charities report early to ensure there are no issues.