New traffic light display for charity accounts and reports

A new traffic light display indicating if a charity has submitted their accounts and reports to the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland on time, is now live on the register of charities.

The public register lists all the charities registered in Northern Ireland as well as providing information such as what they do, where they work and their annual accounts for applicable years.

Under the traffic light system the public will be able to see if a charity has submitted their accounts and reports to the Commission on time or late, and by how many days they are overdue if not submitted at all.

“The register is the only place you will be able to find information on all registered charities, together and available at just the click of a button,” explained Rossa Keown, Head of Compliance and Enquiries at the Commission.

“All you have to do is go to the register, search for a charity and you can see important facts and documents such as the charity’s accounts and annual reports for the years the charity had a duty to file for.

”With all that data available, the public have the tools they need to make the right charity decisions for themselves, like what charity to support or donate to, or even to join as a volunteer or service user,” continued Rossa.

“The new traffic light system will enhance that, letting you see if a charity submitted their accounts on time, maybe they were a few days late or perhaps months overdue and it’s time to start asking why,” he said.

Annual reporting by registered charities is a key element of the Commission's ongoing regulatory work as well as being a vital way for charities to be open and accountable to their supporters, and the public.

Once a charity is registered, the trustees have a legal duty to report annually to the Commission on the charity’s finances, resources and activities. To check when your charity is due to submit their accounts and reports, please click here.

The new traffic light system indicates if a charity is:

• Registered – this will display on a registered charity’s entry up until their first annual reporting deadline date has been reached.
• Received: on time – displays on a charity’s entry when they have filed their annual reporting information on time.
• Received: x days late – displays on a charity’s entry when the charity’s annual return has been filed after their deadline date, including the number of days overdue.
• Overdue: x days – displays on a charity’s entry for the X number of days after their 10-month deadline. The text will be amber if the charity is in default for 2 weeks or less.
• Overdue: x days – displays, in red text, on a charity’s entry when the charity’s annual return are outstanding for more than two weeks.
• Removed – displays on a charity’s entry when they have been removed from the register. This is usually because the charity has closed or merged with another charity.

This new traffic light display is one of the recommendations from the Independent Review of Charity Regulation Northern Ireland. It was consulted on with members of the Commission’s Stakeholder Forum, with specific feedback from the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA).

The Commission has published a range of guidance and video tutorials on annual reporting, available in the Annual reporting section of the website. The resources available include:

• Annual monitoring return online tutorial video.
• How to complete the annual monitoring return – 10 minute guide.
• The online tutorial, Backfilling your charity accounts and reports.

Ends

For more information, please contact Shirley Kernan, Commission Communications Officer, on telephone: 028 3832 0169 or email: shirley.kernan@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.

Through the annual reporting programme registered charities are required to complete and submit an online annual monitoring return form within ten months of their deadline date, attaching the charity’s:

• Accounts report
• trustees’ annual report
• report from independent examiner / auditor, as applicable.

Ordinarily, registered charities are required to submit an annual monitoring return for their first full financial year following their registration date. However, following the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2022, the annual reporting rules for some charities have changed. If your charity is registered, please click here for information on when you should submit your accounts and reports.

The new display is in line with the Independent Review of Charity Regulation, which recommended the introduction of a traffic light system that allows greater differentiation between filing defaulters.