Response to public consultation on the draft accounting and reporting regulations 2016: 

Maximum transparency is a must for charity accounting, says ACCA

The ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) has called for maximum transparency for charity accounting, having submitted their response to the Charity Regulator on Accounting Regulations for Charities.

The professional accountancy body has stated that disclosure requirements need to apply to all charities and it has concerns that the definition is not broad enough to capture the true size of a charity.

Liz Hughes, head of ACCA Ireland commented “We believe that the core objective of the regulations surrounding charity accounting should be one of maximum transparency.

“With a variety of rules, or sometimes no rules at all, being applied to different legal types of charities, the regulations can sometimes appear a little confusing. Although it may require some careful legal drafting, and indeed different legislation for different types of charities, the same overall disclosure requirements need to apply to all charities and these requirements have already been set out in Charity Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP.)

“In the UK, a variety of standards and regulations are already in place for all types of charities from those with a gross income of £25,000 or less to those whose gross income exceeds £250,000. We recommend that Ireland mirror some of these and require that the independent reviews by persons with some accounting knowledge be allowed up to a limit of €250,000 and thereafter the performance of an independent review be restricted to accountants in practice who are already subject to regular monitoring and review. 

“Additionally, charities with an income under the proposed €10,000 limit should be required to complete a detailed self–certification checklist and have this signed by the trustees. A comprehensive checklist for such smaller charities will better ensure compliance and aid enforcement.”