Charities Conference 2022

Charity Commission

The Charity Commission will give a regulatory overview to include:

• General regulatory update including findings from significant reported cases
• Themes and trends in the sector noted by the Commission including the importance of reporting ‘matters of material significance’ to the regulator
• Items of trustee governance or financial guidance published since the last conference by the Commission

Peter Herbert, Insight Training

The preparation and scrutiny of charity accounts throws up many challenges for practitioners. This session will highlight many of the frequently asked questions and provide practical guidance on how to resolve them. Topics covered will include:

• Tricky issues with income recognition and funds analysis
• FAQs on not for profit structures and how to account for them
• Common related party and trustee related disclosure issues
• Recent updates to UK GAAP and other regulations relevant to charity accounts
• Independent examination – why it’s on the radar for regulators and how to get the balance right

James Bannerman, Creative Change Agent

We are all aware that the boards of trustees we come into contact with have a diverse level of experience and this will mean that our conversations with them can vary a lot and need to reflect their level of knowledge and involvement.

James’s session will look at question and discussion skills and techniques we can use when dealing with different and diverse groups of trustees to ensure that we get our message across to them clearly and get the informed responses we need.

Jon Daley, Buzzacott

Charities continue to have a broad range of responsibilities and obligations in relation to direct taxes. In this session we will cover the key principles and updates including:

 Employment tax – determining employment status, new IR35 rules, payment of expenses to volunteers, termination payments

• Charitable trading – commercial activities, sale and rental of property, fundraising events, use of trading subsidiaries
• Corporation tax returns – dealing with notices from HMRC, disclosure requirements
• Gift Aid – declarations, common errors, new guidance on waived loans and refunds
• Creative industry reliefs and the latest developments
• Other charitable reliefs including business rates and SDLT

Nick Owen, The Mighty Creatives

Hear direct from a charity about what support and assistance they need from you.

Malcolm Greenbaum, Greenbaum Training and Consultancy Limited

This session will review any relevant recent changes to legislation and case law decisions affecting charities’ VAT affairs over the past two years that are new or are of continued importance.

We will discuss the VAT issues around property construction and rental that have arisen in practice in the recent past, and how to minimise any adverse effects of buying a property where the vendor has opted to tax.

We will also discuss the limited supplies of goods and services that charities can receive free of VAT, or at the reduced rate of 5% and remind delegates when their charities might be considered to be making taxable supplies, possibly requiring registration. 

VAT issues around fundraising events will also be addressed.

Andrew Paul, Baker Tilly International

Most of us who deal with charities on a regular basis will know our way around the key sections of the Charities SORP. But there will also be those sections at the back which we rarely look at but can be very important in certain circumstances.

Andrew’s session will look at some of those lesser thumbed chapters including those on Custodian Trusteeships, Social Investments and the suite of chapters looking at group structures and refresh our memories on the content.