New SORP

The Charity Commission and OSCR will launch a four-month consultation this month on the new version of the charities SORP, which governs how charities draw up their annual reports and accounts.

The changes and updates to the SORP will be the biggest change to charity financial reporting in years and follow the publication of a new UK GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Practice) and the new reporting standard FRS 102. The consultation hopes to enable charities to gain a thorough understanding of the changes and their implications as well as providing the opportunity to feedback any comments and concerns to the Charity Commission before the final document is sent to the Financial Reporting Council for approval.

The new SORP standards will come into force for accounting periods starting on or after 1 January 2015, so charities with a December year-end may need to consider the new rules from 1 January 2014, because the 2014 comparatives, including brought-forward figures, will need re-stating in line with the new SORP for the 2015 accounts.

IBB Solicitors’ specialist Charities team has a wealth of experience in delivering practical commercial advice to charities and not for profit organisations and those who work with them. For advice, contact a member of the team: call us on 08456 381381 or email charities@ibblaw.co.uk.