New guidance for arts charities from Charity Commission

(Immediate Release - 15 June 2009)

 

The Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, is today publishing practical guidance to help the trustees of arts charities draw up their annual report and accounts, incorporating the new requirement to report on public benefit.

The example report is for a fictional charity operating a theatre and arts centre and shows how reporting on public benefit sits within the existing structure of the trustees’ annual report and how these reports can be adapted to include public benefit reporting.

Andrew Hind, the Commission’s Chief Executive, said,

“This example trustees’ annual report has been produced to offer further guidance to arts charities on how best to report on the public benefit they provide. The example is not a template, but we hope it will prove a useful tool for trustees as they report on their public benefit for the first time in the next set of annual accounts published after 31 March 2009. The example allows charities to envisage in a practical way how their own trustees’ annual report might look as they move towards reporting on public benefit. We are committed to assisting charities comply with the new reporting requirements and this guidance has been produced in response to requests from the sector.”

The new example report accompanies the Commission’s existing public benefit guidance and is available from the website at www.charitycommission.gov.uk under ‘Public benefit guidance’.

End.

Notes to Editors

1. The Charity Commission is the independent regulator for charities in England and Wales. See www.charitycommission.gov.uk for further information or call our contact centre on 0845 300 0218.

2. Following the introduction of the Charities Act 2006, new Regulations require charities to report via their trustees’ annual report after 31 March 2009 on the public benefit they deliver.

3. The Commission has already published six example trustees’ annual reports illustrating how charities might report on their public benefit. These apply to the following charities:

• Charities with an income of less than £500,000
• Charities with an income of more than £500,000
• Parochial Church Councils
• Fee-charging schools
• Grant-giving trusts
• Mosques

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