A practical guide for trustees & finance officers
What to gather, when to act, and how to make your charity year end as smooth as possible,from the UK's most experienced independent examiners.
When to do what
A well-run year end doesn't happen by accident. Here's a practical timeline from the final month of your financial year through to submission.
Start reconciling bank accounts and reviewing any outstanding invoices, grants or donations. Make sure all income and expenditure for the year is properly recorded before the year end date passes.
Check that restricted funds are clearly identified and that spending against restricted income is correctly matched.
At the year end date, close off your accounting records. No further transactions should be posted to the closed year. Confirm the bank balance agrees to your bank statement as at the year end date.
If your charity holds physical stock, equipment or significant fixed assets, record their condition and value at year end.
Compile your trial balance, bank statements for the full year, and any supporting records. The sooner you provide these to IEL, the sooner your accounts can be prepared and examined.
Once IEL has examined the accounts, trustees must formally approve them at a trustees' meeting. The minutes of that meeting should record the approval. The chair or a designated trustee then signs the balance sheet.
Charities with income over £25,000 must submit their accounts and Trustees' Annual Report online via the Charity Commission's portal. The deadline is 10 months from your year end date (9 months for charitable companies filing with Companies House).
What to gather
Everything IEL will need to prepare and examine your charity's accounts. Having these ready will make the process significantly faster.
Learn from others
After 30 years and thousands of charity examinations, we've seen the same issues come up again and again. Here's what to watch out for.
One of the most common compliance issues,spending restricted grant income on general running costs, or failing to track restricted fund balances separately.
Fix: Maintain a separate ledger for each restricted fund and reconcile at year end.
Accounts that don't agree to bank statements are a red flag for examiners. Unreconciled differences cause delays and sometimes reveal errors or missing transactions.
Fix: Reconcile monthly, not just at year end. It's much easier to resolve in real time.
Many charities leave year-end preparation until just before the filing deadline,creating unnecessary pressure and limiting the time available to resolve queries.
Fix: Aim to provide records to IEL within 2-3 months of your year end.
The TAR is legally required and must include specific information about the charity's purposes, activities and achievements. Many charities produce reports that are too brief or don't meet the Charity Commission's requirements.
Fix: IEL can review and advise on your TAR as part of the accounts preparation process.
Thousands of charities leave Gift Aid unclaimed each year,simply because they haven't set up the process or don't realise they're eligible. It's free money.
Fix: Talk to Trust Advice about setting up Gift Aid,our sister organisation specialises in this.
Equipment, vehicles and property must be recorded on a fixed asset register and depreciated correctly. Many smaller charities either don't maintain a register or depreciate inconsistently.
Fix: A simple spreadsheet register updated annually is all most charities need.
Why use IEL
For most charities, the year end is a distraction from the work that really matters,supporting beneficiaries, delivering services, building relationships. The accounts are a legal necessity, but they shouldn't consume weeks of a trustee's or finance officer's time.
IEL was founded specifically to take this burden off charity teams. We work exclusively with charities, which means we understand the particular pressures of the sector, the quirks of charity accounting, and the questions that trustees most commonly need answered.
"We handle the whole year end process for you, from initial records to examined, signed accounts ready for trustee approval and Charity Commission submission."
Because we both prepare the accounts and carry out the independent examination, there is no handoff between accountant and examiner, no duplication of queries, and no additional cost for having two separate firms involved. One specialist team, one fixed fee, one smooth process.
Upload your trial balance, bank statements and supporting documents to your secure IEL client area. We'll confirm exactly what's needed.
Your dedicated IEL specialist prepares your year-end accounts to the required standard, coming back to you with any queries.
The same team carries out the independent examination, reviewing the accounts against your records and all regulatory requirements.
We return your completed, examined accounts ready for trustee approval and Charity Commission submission. Job done.
Common questions
Ready to hand it over?
Fixed fee, no surprises. We'll confirm what's needed, handle the preparation and examination, and return everything ready for submission.
Or email us at info@iel.org.uk · We aim to respond within one working day
