Annual return deadline pending for over 1,100 charities

Over 1,100 Northern Ireland charities have less than three weeks to submit their annual return to the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland.

The registered charities, which have financial years ending on 31 March 2017, must submit their return by 31 January 2018 - no later than 10 months after the end of their financial year.

“We have already received over 300 annual returns from charities with a deadline of 31 January 2018,” said Fiona Muldoon, the Commission’s Monitoring and Compliance Manager.

“However, there are still some 1,100 charities due to submit by the end of the month and we would encourage them to do so as soon as possible to avoid encountering difficulties closer to the deadline.

“Charities which wait to the last minute to file their annual return run the risk of not having the right documents or information ready and could end up going into default,” said Ms Muldoon.

All registered charities in Northern Ireland must, under the law, report to the Commission annually on their finances, resources and activities, with accounts submitted made public on the register of charities.

Each registered charity has ten months from the end of their financial year to submit the required annual monitoring return to the Commission.

If a charity submits their information on time, their register entry will be marked in green as up-to-date. However, the entry will automatically be highlighted in red if a charity is in default (failed to provide information within the 10 months) or has submitted documentation late.

There is also a risk that charities which fail to submit their annual return may be referred to the Commission’s monitoring and compliance or enquiries teams.

To avoid the possibility of this happening, trustees of registered charities are advised to ensure they know when the charity’s annual return deadline is, what they need to submit to the Commission and that the requested information is submitted in time.

Trustees are also encouraged to keep the charity’s contact information, as held on the register of charities, accurate and up to date.

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

Ends

For more information please contact Shirley Kernan, Commission for Communications Officer, on telephone: 028 3832 0169 or email: communications@charitycommissionni.org.uk

Notes to editors

The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland is the independent regulator of charities in Northern Ireland, established under the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008.

The Commission has statutory objectives to ensure trustees comply with their legal obligations in managing charities, and to increase public trust and confidence in charities.