7 Ways To Be Fully Compliant With The Charity Commission
Charity Accountant
Legislative and regulatory pressures on the charity and non-profit sector are intensifying. Charitable organizations must stay aware and abreast of the regulations governing the sector, but doing so is challenging, due to frequent changes in laws and guidelines.
With the ever-increasing need to prove responsibility and accountability, acquire financing and employees, and care for beneficiaries, nonprofit organizations have more on their plates than ever.
This is why having a charity accountant who understands the unique demands of non-profit and charitable organizations is critical. At Pearl Lemon Accountants, we strive to deliver practical advice in a clear, non-jargony manner.
We personalize our advice to each client’s unique situation, addressing technical issues such as tax, audits, and the reporting and recording of financial data in accordance with industry standards.
We make sure you’re getting all of the tax breaks and exemptions you’re entitled to, and we help you with bookkeeping, accounting, and financial statements on a daily basis.
Why You Need a Charity Accountant
No doubt you are wondering why you should hire a charity accountant when you have volunteers on staff who know their way around Quickbooks and could help in that way. However, in today’s complex non-profit financial environment, that will rarely be enough. Here are just some of the reasons you need a charity accountant:
Audit Ready Records When You Need Them
You’ll need a good accounting system to keep your nonprofit status, meet the needs of your donors, and prepare for audits. However, keeping audit-ready records is difficult, particularly with a part-time, voluntary, or barely existent accounting department.
You can’t prove you’ve been using donor funds for their intended objectives if your records are shoddy, or you don’t have the right internal financial safeguards in place – and that’s a big problem!
When you outsource your nonprofit accounting services to an experienced charity accountant, you can be assured that your books are always in order and up to date. As a result, you won’t have to rush or get everyone into a panic every time someone requests to examine your books or questions the way the funds raised by your organization are being used
You’ll also gain your donors’ trust by demonstrating that you’re handling their money appropriately with better accountability and your willingness to prove so transparently.
Free Up Valuable Time
As a member of a nonprofit team, your attention is drawn in a variety of ways, including fundraising, team leadership, staffing initiatives, and more. With so much on your plate, keeping track of supporter donations should be the last thing on your mind.
If you’re trying to address a homelessness epidemic in your city, for example, you should spend more time creating relationships with people in your neighborhood rather than staring at spreadsheets or worrying about tax issues.
Outsourcing your nonprofit’s accounting to a charity accountant will help your organization flourish by freeing up time to focus on the work that matters to you. If you’re not bogged down with bookkeeping activities like processing invoices, categorizing receipts, or paying your vendors, you’ll be able to guide your staff and volunteers more efficiently and do more of the good work that you hoped to when you began the venture in the first place.
Understand What You Can - and Cannot - Spend
You would like to be able to put your contributors’ donations and grant funding to work right away to support the success of your programs.
However, for many nonprofit organizations, determining how much of your money should go toward programs versus fundraising or operations can be challenging. Because of program-restricted funding and grants, it’s much more difficult to keep track of which money you CAN spend.
A charity accounting firm that specializes in nonprofits is invaluable in this situation. Because most general accounting companies lack the industry-specific knowledge you require, they lack established procedures for tracking program- or grant-restricted monies. A charity accountant, on the other hand, will be familiar with the challenges that groups like yours confront on a daily basis and more than capable of handling them.
Get Financial Reporting You'll Understand
Never underestimate the importance of accurate nonprofit financial reports that are presented in a standardized and identifiable style. It may appear simple, yet…
The majority of small and mid-sized charitable organizations (as well as many large ones) struggle to provide timely financial reports that satisfy their board members, funders, and auditors. And, in many cases, the reports they do receive change from month to month in terms of presentation, information contained, and categorization.
A competent charity accountant will standardize your records and categorize your income and expenses in a uniform manner. As a result, you’ll receive reliable monthly reports that you’ll be able to study, and also understand with ease, and pass on to others with confidence.
As a result, both your oversight team and your donors will have greater faith in you. It also enables you to make better decisions in a shorter amount of time. So that you can progress with your objective!
The Help You Need When Dealing with HMRC
It is crucial that any and all of your dealings with HMRC are compliant, transparent and meet all the ever-changing guidelines. It’s just as important that your organization receives all of the tax benefits to which they are entitled. And having a charity accountant handle your non-profit tax affairs is the best – and least stressful – way to do this.
Save Money
Nonprofit accounting services can save your organization a lot of money.
Employees are costly, and accounting salaries have climbed by as much as 20% to 30% in the last year alone. Furthermore, staff accountants are prone to being caught in old, bad habits that waste time and money for your charity.
Outsourced charity accounting services can be far more efficient than an in-house team, thanks to improved processes and cutting-edge technology. And you won’t even need to provide us with desk space!
That’s not even taking into consideration the huge hidden costs of dealing with staff turnover, erroneous or careless accounting, payroll taxes, and so on. Indeed, if you’re already a little behind your books, the cost of straightening them up for an audit could be more than a year’s worth of charity accounting services.
When you choose the best outsourced accounting firm, you’ll be amazed at how much time and expense you’ll save simply by doing things correctly the first time.
Ready to talk about working with Pearl Lemon's charity accountant team?
Contact us today and let's get that conversation started.