For charities
Choosing an accountant for your charity
SORP accounts, independent examination thresholds, and Gift Aid trip up generalist accountants more than any other area of small-business finance. Here's what trustees should know before appointing one.
Quick answer
SORP: why charity accounts look different
Charities over £250,000 income (or any charitable company) must follow the Charities SORP — a Statement of Financial Activities instead of a profit and loss, income and spending split between restricted, unrestricted, and endowment funds, and a trustees' annual report explaining public benefit. An accountant used to ordinary company accounts can get this wrong; it's worth confirming SORP experience specifically, not just general practice experience.
Independent examination or audit?
Income over £25,000 needs an independent examination; over £1m (or over £250,000 with assets over £3.26m) needs a full statutory audit by a registered auditor. Over £250,000, the examiner must hold a recognised accountancy qualification. Booking the right level — not paying audit prices where examination suffices — is a straightforward saving trustees often miss.
Gift Aid: often the accountant earns their fee here alone
Gift Aid adds 25% to eligible individual donations and claims can be backdated up to four years. The Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme also tops up small cash and contactless collections without individual declarations. A first review with a charity-experienced accountant regularly uncovers unclaimed back years — sometimes funding the engagement for a decade.
What to ask before you appoint
Ask directly: how many charity clients do you act for, do you prepare SORP-compliant accounts in-house, what independent examination or audit experience do you hold, and how do you handle restricted fund reporting? A generalist accountant can often manage smaller charities well — but for anything approaching the audit threshold, sector experience is worth paying for.
In short: Confirm SORP and independent-examination experience before you appoint — general practice accountants can file a charity's numbers, but sector-specific knowledge is what protects trustees and unlocks Gift Aid you may be missing.
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Find an accountant who already works with charities
Pick My Accountant runs an independent directory of UK accountancy firms, including a dedicated guide to accountants and independent examiners experienced with charity SORP accounts . It's a separate service from CharityCompare, run by the same team, and follows the same rule we do — no charity or firm can pay for a better ranking.
Common questions
Does a small charity need an accountant at all? +
Charities under £25,000 income don't need an independent examination, but must still keep proper records and file receipts-and-payments accounts. Many small charities use an accountant just for Gift Aid setup and an annual check — a modest cost for real trustee peace of mind.
Is a CIC treated the same as a charity for accounting? +
No — Community Interest Companies file ordinary company accounts plus a CIC34 community-interest report and pay corporation tax like any company, with no Gift Aid or charity tax reliefs. If reliefs matter, charitable status (or a charity/CIC pairing) changes the accounting conversation entirely.
Can trustees do the bookkeeping themselves and just use an accountant for the year-end? +
Yes, and it's common for smaller charities — trustees or a volunteer treasurer keep day-to-day records, and a specialist accountant prepares the SORP-compliant accounts and independent examination file annually. Get the record-keeping format agreed with the accountant first so year-end isn't a reconstruction exercise.