For those advising or assisting in running a Charity you need to be aware that as from 1 April 2015 new reporting standards came into affect and this affects all Charities.
Up until now there have been no minimum standards on the content or quality of the financial statements required to be filed with Charities Services.
As from 1 April 2015 there are now minimum standards required and these have been divided into four different tiers which is determined by the annual expenses or operating payments of the Charity and whether it has public accountability. The majority of Charities in New Zealand, approximately 75%, will fall under the tier four category. This tier four category covers Charities with under $125,000 of operating payments. This includes day to day expenses but excludes capital payments, for example, physical assets or investments. This tier four category also covers cash based accounting, that is, reporting on cash paid and received as opposed to accrual based accounting which is more complicated and covers aspects such as depreciation.
Therefore, the new reporting standards under the tier four category are the least complicated. However, Charities falling under this category need to be aware and need to start planning as from 1 April 2015 for the information that will need to be collated in order to comply with these new standards. For a number of Charities there will now be considerably more information that will need to be collated and provided under these new reporting standards. The reporting categories under tier four are broken up into four parts as follows.
- Statement of Service Performance;
- Statement of Receipt and Payments;
- Statement of Resources and Commitments;
- Notes to the Performance Report;
Charities Services have provided detailed and helpful information on their website at www.charities.govt.nz and we suggest you look at the information available on this site. There are templates set up to ensure that Charities meet the minimum required reporting standards as from 1 April 2015.
Note that the financial statements required to be filed with Charities Services for the financial period ending 31 March 2015 will not be subject to their new requirements.
We advise a number of Charities and are experienced in all aspects of business and commercial law including working with Charities.
If you require any advice or further information on the matters dealt with in this publication please contact the lawyer at Farry and Co. who normally advises you, or alternatively contact:
solicitor: Simon Milne
smilne@farry.co.nz
09 379 0055 or 03 477 8870
The information contained in this publication is intended as a guide only. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Professional advice should be sought before applying any of the information to particular circumstances. While every reasonable care has been taken in the preparation of this publication, Farry and Co. does not accept liability for any errors it may contain.