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.
Applies to England and Wales
Documents
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
Updates to this page
-
Updated to reflect changes to our guidance on charity accounts.
-
The guidance has been updated to include the use of electronic signatures on the balance sheet, trustees' annual report and independent examination.
-
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.
-
First published.