Press release: Charity regulators urge auditors and independent examiners to be more proactive in reporting concerns

Reporting relevant matters of interest: new insights for auditors and independent examiners

UK charity regulators are today encouraging auditors and independent examiners to be more forthcoming with concerns they come across in charity finances or governance during the course of their work.

Reporting of relevant matters of interest to UK charity regulators is a joint publication from the Charity Commission for England and Wales, the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) and the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland.

This is the first time the regulators have provided examples on where reporting would be helpful by auditors and independent examiners when reporting matters that are relevant but not a legal requirement to report.

Today’s publication advocates a ‘when in doubt, report it’ approach and includes examples of relevant matters which may be reported:

  • insecure funding putting beneficiaries at risk – for example, a charity established to care for vulnerable adults and children is reliant on a single contract for 90% of its income in the reporting period and the trustees are uncertain whether they will be able to secure future funding at the current level when the contract is renewed the following year
  • donation that may indicate vulnerability to abuse – for example, a large donation is made via an intermediary organisation, restricted to teaching the strict beliefs of a particular religion and requires educational materials to be purchased from a specified overseas source
  • lack of financial oversight by the whole trustee body – for example, minutes show that the finances of a large charity are only considered annually during a presentation from the CEO

Nigel Davies, Head of Accountancy Services at the Charity Commission for England and Wales, said:

Last year’s Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee report on Kids Company noted that auditors have been too reticent when it comes to reporting matters of concern that would be of interest to the regulator. Through this new publication we are encouraging and enabling the profession to step up and engage with us more readily on a proactive basis.

Myles McKeown, Head of Compliance and Enquiries at Charity Commission for Northern Ireland said:

With over 200,000 registered charities operating across the UK we as regulators cannot possibly upturn every stone, and so auditors and independent examiners have an incredibly important role to play in helping us regulate effectively.

Laura Anderson, Head of Professional Advice and Intelligence at OSCR said:

This document is a collaborative initiative between UK regulators. This joined up approach to guidance has enabled us to provide the most consistent and comprehensive insights on areas we encourage auditors to report to us, drawing on UK-wide experience across the sector.

Ends

PR 73/17

Notes to editors

  1. The Charity Commission is the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales. To find out more about our work, see our annual report.
  2. Search for charities on our check charity tool.
  3. Reporting of relevant matters of interest to UK charity regulators should be read alongside the guidance for auditors and independent examiners on reporting matters of material significance which is published by the UK charity regulators.
  4. Information on how to make a report is available in Section 3.
  5. There is no requirement for auditors or independent examiners to undertake any additional audit or examination work to identify relevant matters for reporting. The matters that are reported will be those identified during the course of an audit or independent examination. (See Section 2.2)
  6. Minor issues – those that are immaterial to the accounts and matters that have no bearing on the use of charitable funds or assets – to do with honest mistakes in the governance of a charity do not need to be reported to a charity regulator. (See Section 2.3)
  7. The Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) is the independent regulator and registrar of Scotland’s 23,500 charities and publishes the Scottish Charity Register at www.oscr.org.uk. Our vision is for charities in which the public has confidence and which provide public benefit.
  8. The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland is the independent regulator of charities in Northern Ireland, established under the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008, responsible for ensuring Northern Ireland has a dynamic and well governed charities sector in which the public can have confidence.


Press release: Vietnam to develop its children’s math and digital skills with UK support

The learning app is designed and developed in an educational project under UK – Vietnam Fund. This project has also supported the creation of an English version of the MOET online teaching and learning portal.

On 14th November, teachers in Hanoi participated in an exciting day of ICT & Maths professional development at the Hanoi Hilton Hotel, provided by Just2easy and highly experienced British teachers. Teachers in Ho Chi Minh took part in a similar event on the 16th November at the Sofitel Hotel Saigon Plaza.

J2blast can be accessed by any students and teachers in Viet Nam by logging in to the MOET online teaching and learning portal. Each student can access their own personalised account that tracks their progress and development in everything from Times Tables to various elements of Secondary School Maths curriculum.

Teachers can also benefit greatly from using the app by tracking student progress in numeracy, identifying struggling students with specific maths challenges and then supporting their students with further activities or help.

The Managing Director for Just2easy, Danny Young said:

We are thrilled to be able to provide this unique and exciting app for every student in Vietnam. We really want to enable every student in the whole country to have fun in learning and practicing their maths & ICT skills.

For further information, please contact:

  • Ms Dinh Thu Huong, the British Embassy Communications Manager; Tel: 3936 0500 ext 2227; Email: dinh.huong@fco.gov.uk
  • Mr. Alastair Cameron, International Director, Just2easy Ltd; Mobile: 00447515817699; Email: alastair@j2e.com


Press release: Welsh Ministers celebrate 50th anniversary of Merched y Wawr

UK Government Ministers will host members of Merched y Wawr at an event in London today to mark the 50th anniversary of the women’s organisation (22 November).

Members will join the Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns and Guto Bebb at a drinks reception at Gwydyr House where the achievements of the Welsh language social movement will be celebrated.

Merched y Wawr has over 270 branches and clubs across Wales, giving women of all ages the opportunity to get together and socialise in Welsh, with learners welcome too.

The movement was first formed by women from the small rural village of Parc by Bala in 1967, as a Welsh-speaking organisation that quickly grew to become a Wales-wide organisation.

This year, Merched y Wawr embarked on a national tour to mark five decades of social gatherings – visiting the Urdd and National Eisteddfodau, Royal Welsh Show, National Library of Wales, The Pierhead and other venues across the country.

Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns said:

Merched y Wawr is a pillar of Welsh culture and society, welcoming women from across the country to take part in a wide variety of activities through the medium of Welsh.

As the movement marks its 50th anniversary, I’m delighted to have the opportunity to host members at Gwydyr House today and to celebrate the hard work and dedication of members who volunteer tirelessly to make the organisation as successful as it is.

The UK Government remains committed to ensuring the Welsh language and culture continues to thrive and the contribution Merched Y Wawr makes to that effort is invaluable. I extend my warmest congratulations to them as they reach this important milestone. Here’s to another 50 years.

National director of Merched y Wawr, Tegwen Morris said:

It is a great honour to be in London representing the Merched y Wawr members, as so much has been achieved over the past fifty years.

We still organise over 3,000 events in Wales on an annual basis. This year we have succesfully completed a heritage project that has managed to capture so many memories, collect thousands of articles and has renewed our enthusiasm for the future.

We thank you for the privilege and opportunity to come to Gwydyr House to celebrate our Golden Anniversary – an experience that we truly appreciate.

ENDS



Press release: Foreign Secretary statement on resignation of Robert Mugabe

I will not pretend to regret Mugabe’s downfall: but this can now be a turning point, a moment of hope for this beautiful country, full of potential. The immediate priority is to ensure that Zimbabwe has a legitimate government, appointed through free and fair elections in accordance with the constitution.

That’s what the UK wants to see and together, with our international friends and partners in the region, we stand ready to support Zimbabwe in this goal.



Speech: “Let us stand together in our commitment to end the exploitation of human beings and safeguard the dignity of those who are most vulnerable”

Thank you Mr President. The United Kingdom welcomes this debate and resolution 2388. They are further steps towards more robust Security Council action against trafficking. And thank you, too for your presence Minister at the debate, and thank you to all of our briefers.

It was just last week that we discussed the security challenges in the Mediterranean and their consequences, and the trafficking of humans is one of those most devastating of consequences, not only to those involved, but also to all of us who value the most basic of human rights. It was also last week that so many of us were outraged by that shocking video footage on CNN of modern slavery in Libya.

As we know too well, the nature of today’s conflicts has encouraged the growth of armed groups, terrorists and powerful criminal networks. They all thrive in the absence of the rule of law, and they profit on an unprecedented scale from the chaos of ungoverned spaces. These groups prey on the most vulnerable, many of whom have already lost their families, their homes, their livelihoods, to steal the one thing they have left: their freedom. Such exploitation takes on many forms in conflict zones, including child labour, slavery and slavery-like practices, forced labour and sexual exploitation.

Two issues Mr President raised in Secretary-General’s recent report on trafficking in conflict stood out to me.

The first, as others have noted, was the call for improved data gathering, evidence collection and information sharing. Improved data is central to deepening our understanding of the problem, evidence gathering allows us to prosecute perpetrators more effectively, and information sharing means victims are identified and supported faster.

The second issue was the report’s call for a more coordinated UN response. Human trafficking cuts across all of the UN’s pillars: it is a security threat, a human rights violation and a development problem. So, rather than competing with one another over resources or territory, we need UN agencies coordinating and each working to their comparative advantage. We strongly support the Secretary-General’s efforts to resolve this persistent challenge.

After several debates, the Security Council is now well informed of the problem of trafficking in conflict situations. And with resolutions 2331 and 2388, we are now well equipped to act. I’d like to draw your attention to three issues that merit greater attention.

First, violent extremists profit financially from this trade in human misery. It is vital that we integrate this understanding into efforts to combat terrorism. Without the robust use of the full range of existing mechanisms to counter-terrorist financing and impose sanctions, it will be impossible to eradicate the use of slavery as a means to resource, and further the aims, of terrorist groups.

Second, we must act to ensure that global supply chains, which often reach into conflict zones, do not fuel the crime of trafficking. We welcome that resolution 2388 calls on the UN to enhance transparency in its procurement and supply chains. The whole international community can go further in this area.

And third, just as we understand how trafficking drives conflict, we should acknowledge how efforts to address trafficking contribute to peace. Measures to address trafficking by field missions – whether through human rights monitoring or capacity building of police – should not be seen as “add-ons” but as core to efforts to build stability. More broadly, we should consider how anti-trafficking features in the Sustaining Peace agenda, which is all about using a cross-section of UN tools to prevent conflict and build peace.

Finally Mr President, let us not lose sight of who it is that we are working for – the victims and the survivors. Those images on CNN shocked because they showed that this most degrading form of exploitation is tragically not a thing of the past. It is happening today, and it is happening on our watch. No matter how we choose to describe it – human trafficking, modern slavery, forced labour – let us stand together in our commitment to end the exploitation of human beings and safeguard the dignity of those who are most vulnerable.

It is only by doing so that we can hope to succeed in the maintenance of international peace and security.