Charities

Background

Charities have different objectives to their commercial counterparts, but still require a strong management team supported by skilled professional advisers in order to achieve their objectives. Mitchell Charlesworth Chartered Accountants & Business Advisors offer the benefits of a professional team with diverse and proven expertise in providing a prompt and efficient service to a high standard.

We ensure all our partners and staff are kept up-to-date with all the latest technical developments and are also approved consultants with the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NVCO) for the delivery of services to charities and not for profit organisations.

No two charities are identical and our philosophy is based on gaining a sufficiently detailed understanding of the charitable activities for each of our clients.

Our aim is to provide solutions to everyday problems and to assist our clients in making the best use of their resources.

Many of the partners within the practice act as trustees of local charities. They are ideally placed to give clients the benefit of their first hand experience of business planning, fund raising, and the stewardship of charity assets. We keep a database of other like minded professionals who may be able to help your organisation.

Compliance

The Charities Acts have considerably increased the compliance burden on unincorporated charities. In addition to assisting the trustees to comply with their legal responsibilities, we seek to provide a proactive service to assist in reaching their goals.

We recognise that you will have other professional advisers. We will work closely as part of a team having strong connections with many other professional firms and institutions throughout the region.

Service

As charities have diverse objectives, organisational structures and financial systems, we recognise the need to provide focused services to our clients, that are tailored to meet the individual requirements of the charity. These include:

Audit
We provide an efficient external audit to ensure compliance with both company and charity law and Statements of Recommended Practice issued by the accountancy bodies and the Charity Commission.

We can provide an internal audit service through our specialist Business Assurance Team. More and more charities are taking advantage of this service to provide an independent appraisal of the charity’s activities. This involves the examination of the efficiency and effectiveness of business controls with a view to making recommendations to improve systems and performance.

This independent appraisal can be used by the trustees to support any corporate governance reports in the financial statements.

Additionally, we can provide a training service for employees or trustees from basic accounting and control issues to compliance and governance requirements.

Accounting
We can provide a flexible service ranging from maintaining basic accounting records to the production of periodic management accounts including critical analysis and reporting.

Financial & Consultancy
We can offer a variety of services including business planning, including the production of budgets and cash flow forecasts, and assistance with accurate monitoring of these reports. In addition we can offer assistance with IT and financial reporting systems, implementation and development.

Taxation and related issues
Our comprehensive service to businesses provides us with the expertise to advise on taxation matters as they affect our charitable clients. We can assist with complex areas, such as trading by charities, VAT issues and group structures. We are able to assist our clients in raising funds in a tax efficient manner.

Payroll
We offer a bespoke service which ranges from the operation of a payroll bureau on your behalf (including dealing with all aspects of PAYE and national insurance) to simply acting as a help line for queries on matters ranging from SMP, SSP and benefits in kind.

Pensions

Specialist staff are able to offer advice on investment into pensions, and the interpretation of pension legislation and documentation.

In addition the department provides advice on mortgages, life assurances and other forms of personal investment.

Your next step

If you would like to discuss any of the above or require further information please e-mail Philip Griffiths at our Liverpool office or Paul Booth at our Manchester office.