Guidance

Independent examination of charity accounts: guidance for trustees (CC31)

Guidance explains what independent examination involves, how to select an independent examiner for your charity and what you need to do to prepare for an independent examination.

• From: The Charity Commission
• Published: 1 March 2012
• Last updated: 16 September 2026
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  1. 16 September 2026

     Updated to reflect changes to our guidance on charity accounts.

  2. 14 July 2021

     The guidance has been updated to include the use of electronic signatures on the balance sheet, trustees' annual report and independent examination.

  3. 28 August 2019

     In 2017 we updated our guidance to independent examiners (CC32). We have now updated our parallel guidance to trustees on independent examination (CC31). The updated guidance is much shorter than the previous version and focusses on the key things that trustees need to know about independent examination.

  4. 1 March 2012

     First published.

Applies to England and Wales

Documents

Independent examination of charity accounts: guidance for trustees

Ref: CC31

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Details

Accounting thresholds are changing. The figures in the guidance apply to financial years ending before 30 September 2026. Read guidance for information on the figures which apply to financial years ending on or after 30 September 2026.

This guidance gives trustees the information they need to:

• check whether their charity can have its accounts independently examined instead of audited
• appoint a suitable person to carry out the independent examination, and
• prepare for the independent examination