Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2000
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 2000/2868 |
| Year | 2000 |
2000 No. 2868
CHARITIES
The Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2000
Made 19th October 2000
Laid before Parliament 25th October 2000
Coming into force 15th November 2000
The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 42, 44, 45 and 86(3) of the Charities Act 19931and after such consultation as is mentioned in section 86(4) of that Act, hereby makes the following Regulations:
Citation and commencement
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2000 and shall come into force on 15th November 2000.
Interpretation
2. In these Regulations—
“director” includes any person occupying the position of a director, by whatever name called, and in relation to a body corporate whose affairs are managed by its members means a member of the body corporate;
“ex gratia payment” means any such application of the property of a charity, or any such waiver by a charity of any entitlement to receive any property, as may be authorised under section 27(1) of the 1993 Act;
“the 1993 Act” means the Charities Act 1993;
“the 1995 Regulations” means the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 1995;
“financial year” shall be construed in accordance with regulation 5 of the 1995 Regulations2;
“fixed assets” means the assets of a charity which are intended for use or investment on a continuing basis;
“fund” means particular assets of a charity held on trusts which, as respects the purposes for which those assets are held, or as respects the powers of the charity trustees to use or apply those assets, are not identical with those on which other assets of the charity are held;
“income reserves” means those assets in the unrestricted fund of a charity which the charity trustees have, or can make, available to apply for all or any of its purposes, once they have provided for the commitments of the charity and its other planned expenditure;
“institution or body corporate connected with the charity” has the same meaning as in the 1995 Regulations;
“the SORP” means the Statement of Recommended Practice for Accounting and Reporting by Charities, issued by the Charity Commissioners on 17th October 2000;
“special case charity” means a charity which is either—
(a) a registered social landlord within the meaning of the Housing Act 19963and whose registration has been recorded under section 3(3) of that Act; or
(b) has during the financial year in question—
(i) conducted an institution in relation to which a designation made, or having effect as if made, under section 129 of the Education Reform Act 19884or section 28 of the Further and Higher Education Act 19925has effect;
(ii) received financial support from funds administered by a higher education funding council or further education funding council within the meaning of the said Act of 1992 in respect of expenditure incurred or to be incurred by the charity in connection with that institution; and
(iii) incurred no expenditure for charitable purposes other than the purposes of that institution or any other such institution;
“trustee for a charity” includes a custodian trustee and a nominee;
“unrestricted fund” means a fund which is to be used or applied in any way determined by the charity trustees for the furtherance of the objects of a charity, and “restricted fund” means any other fund of a charity.
Form and content of statements of accounts
3.—(1) This regulation applies to a statement of accounts prepared by the charity trustees of a charity (other than a charity specified or referred to in regulation 4 of the 1995 Regulations) in accordance with section 42(1) of the 1993 Act in respect of a financial year—
(a)
(a) which begins on or after 1st January 2001; or
(b)
(b) which begins before that date if—
(i) the charity trustees determine that this regulation, rather than regulation 3 of the 1995 Regulations, shall apply to the statement of accounts; and
(ii) the charity trustees have not, before the date when these regulations come into force, either approved the accounts of the charity in respect of that financial year, or authorised the signature of an annual report in respect of that financial year in accordance with regulation 10(1)(c) of the 1995 Regulations.
(2) If the charity trustees make a determination under sub-paragraph (b) above, they shall also make a determination under regulation 7(1)(b) below, if they are required to prepare an annual report in respect of the financial year in question.
(3) The requirements as to form and content of a statement of accounts to which this regulation applies are those set out in the following provisions of this regulation.
(4) The statement shall consist of—
(a)
(a) a statement of financial activities which shall show the total incoming resources and application of the resources, together with any other movements in the total resources, of the charity during the financial year in respect of which the statement is prepared; and
(b)
(b) a balance sheet which shall show the state of affairs of the charity as at the end of the financial year in respect of which the statement is prepared.
(5) The statement shall be prepared in accordance with the following principles, namely that—
(a)
(a) the statement of financial activities shall give a true and fair view of the incoming resources and application of the resources of the charity in the financial year in respect of which the statement is prepared;
(b)
(b) the balance sheet shall give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity at the end of that year;
(c)
(c) where compliance with the following requirements of this regulation would not be sufficient to give a true and fair view, the necessary additional information shall be given in the statement of accounts or in notes to the accounts;
(d)
(d) if in special circumstances compliance with any of those requirements would be inconsistent with giving a true and fair view, the charity trustees shall depart from the requirement to the extent necessary to give a true and fair view.
(6) The statement—
(a)
(a) shall be prepared in accordance with the methods and principles set out in the SORP; and
(b)
(b) subject to the following three paragraphs of this regulation, shall, with respect to any amount required to be shown in the statement of financial activities or in the balance sheet, also show the corresponding amount for the financial year immediately preceding that to which the statement or balance sheet relates.
(7) Where that corresponding amount is not comparable with the amount to be shown for the item in question in respect of the financial year to which the statement of financial activities or balance sheet relates, the former amount shall be adjusted.
(8) Where in the financial year to which the statement of accounts relates the effect of paragraph (5) and paragraph (6)(a) above is that there is nothing required to be shown in respect of a particular item, but an amount was required to be shown in respect of that item in the statement of accounts for the immediately preceding financial year, those provisions shall have effect as if such an amount were required to be shown in the statement of accounts in the financial year to which the statement relates, and that amount were nil.
(9) Where a charity has more than one fund, only amounts corresponding to the entries in the statement of financial activities relating to the totals of both or all of the funds of the charity need be shown.
(10) There shall be provided by way of notes to the accounts the information specified in the Schedule to these Regulations, and proviso (ii) to regulation 5(4) of the 1995 Regulations shall have effect as if for the reference to regulation 3(4) of those Regulations there were substituted a reference to this paragraph of this regulation.
(11) The balance sheet shall be signed by one or more of the charity trustees of the charity, each of whom has been authorised to do so, and shall specify the date on which the statement of accounts of which the balance sheet forms part was approved by the charity trustees.
Audit and independent examination
4. In relation to a statement of accounts to which regulation 3 applies—
(a) regulation 6(2)(e) of the 1995 Regulations shall have effect as if, for the reference to regulation 3 of those Regulations, there were substituted a reference to regulation 3 above; and
(b) regulation 7(e)(iii) of the 1995 Regulations shall have effect as if, for the reference to regulation 3 of those Regulations, there were substituted a reference to regulation 3 above, and as if, for the reference to paragraph 1 of Part III of Schedule 1 to the 1995 Regulations, there were substituted a reference to sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) of paragraph (5) of regulation 3 above.
Form and content: special cases
5.—(1) This regulation applies to a statement of accounts prepared by the charity trustees of a special case charity in accordance with section 42(1) of the 1993 Act in respect of a financial year which begins on or after 1st January 2001.
(2) The requirements as to form and content of a statement of accounts to which this regulation applies are those set out in the following provisions of this regulation.
(3) The statement shall consist of an income and expenditure account and a balance sheet as at the end of the financial year in respect of which the statement of accounts is prepared.
(4) The statement shall be prepared in accordance with the following principles, namely that—
(a)
(a) the income and expenditure account shall give a true and fair view of the income and expenditure of the charity for the financial year in respect of which the statement of accounts is prepared; and
(b)
(b) the balance sheet shall give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the...
To continue reading
Request your trial