Around 60% of charities in a sample checked have given the new standards a go and we recognise the effort that those charities have put in to their reporting, so thank you.

But there is still some way to go until all charities are meeting the new reporting requirements in the Charities Act 2005. And even for those charities that have attempted to use the new standards, there are some areas where improvements can be made, in particular around the use of the minimum reporting categories and performance information (i.e. outcomes and outputs).

Our checks show that the levels of compliance are lowest for those smaller charities reporting using the Tier 4 standard (any charity with annual expenditure below $125,000). If your charity is required to report using the Tier 4 standard, we suggest you first read the Annual Reporting Guide for Tier 4 charities, and then use the template available on our website to complete your charity's Performance Report. We have developed a tutorial that will step you through the process of completing the template in Excel, and there is also a Word version of the Tier 4 template available if you prefer.  

Additional resources are also available on our website. We highlight issues that we are coming across in our blogs. Webinars are planned for April 2017, so please keep an eye out for more information about these on our website, Facebook and your inbox.

This is a new ground for disqualification, and applies to persons who are already officers of a registered charity.

There are also a range of other factors that may prevent someone from being qualified as an officer under the Charities Act 2005, for example, if they are under 16 years old, an undischarged bankrupt, or have been convicted for a crime involving dishonesty. Further information is available on our website.

Who are a charity’s officers?

The Charities Act 2005 may define officers differently to the way your rules define them. An officer can be a person or a body corporate.

If your charity is a trust, your officers are all your current trustees.
If your charity is not a trust, your officers are: 

• all the members of your highest governing body (e.g. committee, board, etc.),  and
• all the people in a position to have significant influence over your management or administration (for example a chief executive or a chief financial officer).

What should I do if one of our charity’s officers is now disqualified?

Under the Charities Act, your charity must inform us if any of your officers become disqualified. You may decide to remove or replace the disqualified officer or, if you wish to continue having the person as an officer of your charity, you can request a waiver of the disqualification ground. You need to do this through the "Update Details" page in your Charity Dashboard, after you have logged on to your charity’s online account.

If your entity has recently applied for registration, contact us as soon as you can. We will give you access to your online application form for you to make any amendments and/or add new officers.

Keep us up to date

Remember to keep us up to date with any changes to your charity.  You must let us know of any changes to your charity's name, address of service, change in officers, balance date, rules and purpose of your charity. This information is made publicly available on the Charities Register and so we need to ensure that the information is true and correct.

Also, if your charity’s contact details are not current, you might miss out on important information from us like Annual Return reminders.

You can update your charity's details through the "Update Details" page in your Charity Dashboard.

New Zealand Charities Technology Awards Nomination

Charities Services in conjunction with the External Reporting Board (XRB) has been nominated for an award at the New Zealand Charities Technology Awards 2017.

The awards recognise the very best in technology innovation and technology service excellence from organisations and individuals in the New Zealand charitable sector. 

Carolyn Cordery, Associate Professor School of Accounting and Commercial Law at Victoria University of Wellington, nominated Charities Services for the best government agency using technology to connect the community award, for our continued support of the charitable sector to comply with the new legislative requirements for financial reporting. Check out our nomination video!

In another success for the sector, NZ Navigator, a free online self-assessment tool designed to support community organisations in their organisational development (developed through collaboration between community, business sectors and government - including Charities Services), has also been nominated for the best small to medium enterprise using technology to connect the community award. 

The winners will be announced at the awards dinner on 16 March 2017.   

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