Preparing Your Accounts
Increasing accountability and confidence: Having someone independent look over your accounts.
From 1 January 2009, we are introducing a new policy for our Scotland-wide programmes. This increases the requirements concerning the independent inspection of applicants’ annual accounts and involves two changes to the application process:
1. All applicants will be required to submit their annual accounts when applying for a grant. (Previously, applicants for up to £1,000 didn’t have to send us accounts.) New organisations that have not yet produced a set of annual accounts will be required to submit a projection of their anticipated income and expenditure for their first year of operation.
2. All applicants submitting annual accounts with a financial year end date of 31 December 2008 or later will be required to demonstrate that their annual accounts are subject to some form of independent inspection.
Full details and guidance concerning this new policy is available as a download from this page, along with a model statement for use by anyone carrying out an independent inspection.
We believe that the requirement to have someone independent look over their accounts promotes good practice amongst community groups – promoting transparency and confidence in local organisations and thereby building stronger communities.
Around 30% of the organisations that apply to our Scotland-wide grants programmes will potentially be affected by this change, although some will already have their accounts independently inspected.
Registered Charities, Companies and Community Interest Companies (CICs) will already be required to subject their accounts to some degree of independent scrutiny. Advice for these organisations can be found on the websites of their regulators as follows:
www.oscr.org.uk
www.companieshouse.gov.uk
www.cicregulator.gov.uk
Additional support and advice for all organisations may be available from your local Council for Voluntary Service (CVS). Details of the CVS network in Scotland can be found on the website of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations: