Charity Commission slams quality of charities' accounts

NEARLY a third of charities accounts filed with the Charity Commission are of ‘unacceptable quality’, the regulator said as it revealed that thousands of charities accounts are in default.

The charities watchdog is launching a campaign to target charities that have failed to file their accounts on time after it found that 32% of accounts submitted were not of ‘adequate quality’ in the 12 months up to 31 March 2013.

If a charity’s income is over £25,000, accounts must be filed with the commission. Failure to do so indicates a lack of transparency on the part of the charity, the commission warned.

It also published a series of excuses it received from charities that had failed to file their accounts, including claims of accounts being lost on the M1, computers catching fire and one suggestion that “computers are satanic”.

William Shawcross, chairman of the commission said:”Although these excuses are amusing, there is a serious point – after a difficult year for charities, it is essential they do all they can to be open about their finances.”