Not-for-Profit Audit

'Not-for-profit' covers half a dozen legal forms with genuinely different audit and reporting requirements. We tell you which regime applies to your organisation, deliver the assurance it actually needs, and keep the audit proportionate — so more of your money goes to your mission and less to compliance.

One Sector, Many Rulebooks

Registered charities follow the Charities Act scrutiny regime and the Charities SORP. Community interest companies are not charities: they follow ordinary company audit thresholds and file an annual CIC report with the CIC Regulator, with an asset lock protecting community assets. Registered providers of social housing answer to the Regulator of Social Housing and prepare accounts under the sector's accounting direction and the Housing SORP. Co-operatives and community benefit societies have their own audit and reporting rules under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014, distinct from company law. Clubs, trade associations and membership bodies vary again. The first thing we do is confirm — in writing — exactly which requirements apply to you.

Not-for-Profit Audit Services

Full statutory audits for not-for-profit organisations; audits ensuring Charities SORP compliance where applicable; independent examinations where the law allows a lighter touch; grant audits covering recognition, deferred income and funding conditions; restricted and unrestricted fund accounting audits; regulatory compliance audits; and governance and internal control reviews. Where thresholds are in play — charity audit thresholds are set to rise for periods beginning on or after 1 October 2026, and company thresholds rose from April 2025 — we advise on the most proportionate compliant option.

Fund Accounting and Income Recognition

NFP audits concentrate on the areas trustees and boards worry about most: restricted and unrestricted funds correctly identified, tracked and spent in line with conditions; grant and donation income recognised in the right period, with deferred income and performance conditions treated properly; legacy income timing; and trading subsidiary arrangements including gift aid payments to parents. The new Charities SORP, effective for periods beginning on or after 1 January 2026, changes income and lease reporting for charitable NFPs — we build the transition into audit planning.

Governance and Stakeholder Confidence

Funders, members, regulators and donors all read your accounts. Our audits look beyond the numbers at governance structures, internal controls, reserves policies and public benefit reporting, delivering a management letter that boards can actually act on. Where problems exist — fund deficits, related party issues, control gaps — we help you resolve them properly rather than just noting them.

Why Choose Acumon for Not-for-Profit Audits

Deep experience across the not-for-profit sector, integrated charity VAT and tax advice that regularly uncovers savings, hybrid remote delivery that suits small finance teams, fixed fees agreed up front, and reporting tailored to trustees, boards and funders. We also prepare charity and CIC accounts where a separate preparer is not required.

What You Get With Acumon

• Registered charities, CIOs and charitable companies
• Community interest companies and social enterprises
• Registered providers of social housing and housing co-operatives
• Co-operatives, community benefit societies, clubs and membership bodies
• Restricted and unrestricted fund accounting audits
• Grant recognition, deferred income and funding condition testing
• Governance, internal control and reserves policy review

Why Acumon for Not-for-Profit Audit?

• ICAEW and FRC-regulated audit firm with charity and NFP specialists
• Integrated charity VAT and tax advisory alongside audit
• 90+ UK-based staff with hybrid remote delivery for small finance teams
• Charity and CIC accounts preparation available alongside audit
• Only £37k short of the top 100 in the Accountancy Age 50+50 list for 2024

Get a Fixed-Fee Quote

Tell us what you need and we'll come back within one business day with a clear scope and a fixed price — no hourly-rate surprises. Call 020 8567 3451 or use the form and we'll be in touch.