Wednesday 28 February 2018

Key Guides: Charitable Incorporated Organisations

Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIOs) are the newest structure for charities and the Directory of Social Change are publishing a book to help.  It is an update of Gareth Morgan’s excellent CIO book and it illustrates the benefits of the structure and the pitfalls. It contains the new procedures in England and Wales from 2018 for direct conversion of charitable companies to CIOs, (and CIC to CIO conversions from later in 2018).  The publication will be available in April 2018, but you can pre-order.

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WYCAS Shortlisted for Accountancy Award

We were shortlisted for the PQ Magazine Awards 2018, Innovation in Accountancy Award.   We were very kindly nominated by the AIA (Association of International Accountants).  We didn’t win but offer our congratulations to ACCA’s (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) Ethics and Professional Skills module that won our category.  There were 5 entries shortlisted for our category, so there was lots of quality innovation to choose from.

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What you need to know about the Fundraising Regulator - A guide for smaller charities

Do you engage in fundraising activities with the general public? Are you aware of the Fundraising Regulator and the Code of Practice?   The Fundraising Regulator was established in January 2016, following widespread public and media concern about how charities contact potential donors.

Whilst registration with the regulator is voluntary, compliance with the Code is not. The Fundraising Regulator’s website has lots of useful information about the regulations.

A key principal is “Fundraisers MUST take all reasonable steps to treat a donor fairly, enabling them to make an informed decision about any donation. This MUST include taking into account the needs of any potential donor who may be in a vulnerable circumstance or require additional care and support to make an informed decision”.

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What should our legal structure be?

After writing last month’s article on the conversion process for charitable companies to convert to Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIOs), we came across this guide produced by DLA Piper and UnLtd on choosing a legal structure for your organisation. It can be a complex area and it looks like this guide could be very useful indeed. There is an extensive glossary too.

The guide is titled Structures for Social Enterprises, however it does cover all kinds of 3rd sector structures – charities, unincorporated associations, CICs etc.

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Our services

WYCAS provides a range of specialist services designed to meet the needs of the third sector:

• One to one support and training
• Preparation of year-end accounts
• Independent examination
• Financial training courses and workshops
• Computerising accounts
• Bookkeeping and management accounts
• Advice and information
• Bespoke consultancy projects

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