Greengage Associates

Independent Examination

The ‘lighter touch’ alternative to charity audit

An Independent Examination is a legally acceptable form of external scrutiny of the annual financial statements of smaller charities - and is a simpler, ‘lighter touch’ alternative to a full financial audit.

An Independent Examiner from Greengage Associates will be a full member of the Association of Charity Independent Examiners:

This is an important indicator of possession of the necessary skills and experience.

The examiner is bound by the Association's code of ethics.

Greengage Associates can currently perform independent examinations for charities (including charitable companies) in England and Wales with annual income below £250,000.

Differences from audit

An Independent Examination differs from an audit in that:

An Independent Examiner is defined by the Charities Act 1993 as "an independent person who is reasonably believed by the charity trustees to have the requisite ability and practical experience to carry out a competent examination of the accounts"

The examiner follows a ten-stage Charity Commission-directed process that covers review of the accounts, consideration of any unusual items or disclosures identified and a compliance check.

Assuming all is satisfactory, the examiner issues a statement that 'no matter has come to my attention which gives me reasonable cause to believe that ……… the requirements ……… have not been met’.

An independent examination is therefore a negative assurance - in contrast to the positive assurance given by an audit which follows deeper procedures to arrive at the audit opinion that the financial statements give a true and fair view.

A charity eligible for an independent examination may prefer to have an audit, but the trustees could be required to justify the likely extra cost.

Greengage Associates can also undertake the preparation of the financial statements in advance of the independent examination.

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