Accountants for Charities and Schools

We deal with charitable organisations of many type. From simple unincorporated charities through to CIC's and charitable companies. Trading subsidiaries are also a common way of ringfencing trading risk from the asserts of the charity. We can advise on initial structures or reorganisations of your charitable organisation to ensure you are fully equipped for the future. Get in touch to talk to one of our team.

Not at all, in fact it may save you money. Your new accountant will typically need to spend time getting to know your organisation and how you work, but most do not charge you for this process as it is seen as a necessary investment of time to develop a longer relationship. You can also benefit from obtaining a quotation for a fixed number of years so you can be assured that unless your activities change substantially, your accountancy fees will not.

Yes. Members of our specialist charities team all have a good understanding of the wide range of taxation issues relating to charities, such as charitable tax exemptions, small trading exemptions and use of trading subsidiaries, gift aid reclaims, etc. We have a team of experienced corporate tax consultants who are able to advise further on the more complex areas. We also have two very experienced VAT consultants with much experience of working with charities, and are able to advise on the complexity of partial exemption and property-related VAT issues, along with other areas that may be relevant to your charity.

Yes. We’ve recently noticed a number of small charities moving to Xero, whether they have moved from another software solution or upgraded from spreadsheet/cashbook accounting. Xero is flexible enough to meet the needs of smaller charities, with a customisable chart of accounts to aid reporting, tracking categories to assist with your fund accounting, and flexibility with VAT codes for partial exemption. Xero is also available to registered charities at a discounted rate. We are able to assist charities with the transition to Xero, whether that is by setting up Xero, converting existing data onto Xero, or providing training on how to use the software.

Yes. We carry out charity audits (whether these are required due to the charity’s income level or under the terms of the charity’s constitution) and provide independent examination services for charities too. This includes audits for independent schools registered as charities. We also carry out academy trust audits – we are able to provide academy trusts with either internal audit services or external audit services and regularity reporting/accounts return. We are also able to provide other assurance services such as grant audits and the audits of Teachers’ Pension annual returns.

Our charities and not-for-profit team work exclusively with charities, academies and other not for profit organisations of a variety of types and sizes. We understand the specific issues that are likely to arise and are familiar with the accounting requirements, for example fund accounting rules as well as providing advice on the content of trustee annual reports. At Lovewell Blake, we pride ourselves in providing an individually tailored service to our clients and we understand that all of our clients will have different needs. Members of our charities team have experience as school governors and charity trustees, and the senior members of our team hold a Diploma in Charity Accounting.

We are able to prepare statutory academy accounts which are fully compliant with the Academies Accounts Direction, either as part of our external audit service or as a separate engagement if required. We are also able to assist non-audit clients with the preparation or review of management accounts and budget forecast returns if required.