OSCR consults on charity accounts changes

Charities in Scotland are being invited to contribute views on proposed changes to the charities SORPS, the statements of recommended practice in preparing charity accounts.

The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR), with its counterpart the Charity Commission for England & Wales, is consulting on changes to reflect changes to UK-Irish accounting practice due to take effect from January 2016, following proposals by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC).

The FRC requires that a SORP must be prepared in accordance with the FRC’s policy and code of practice on SORPs, and not conflict with any accounting standard.

Expected changes will mean that the charities SORP known as FRSSE will not apply for reporting periods (financial years) beginning on or after 1 January 2016, and changes are needed to the charities SORP known as FRS 102 effective for reporting periods beginning on or after that date.

The consultation documents and draft schedule of changes can be viewed via the dedicated SORP micro-site www.charitysorp.org. The consultation runs for three months until 18 September 2015.

Nigel Davies, head of accountancy services and joint chair of the SORP committee, said: “We hope that sector practitioners and users of the accounts will agree with our proposed response to the changes the FRC is making to UK accounting from 2016. Your participation in the consultation exercise is very important to ensuring that the solution is the best one possible.”