The Auditing Practices Board (APB) has this week issued Bulletin 2009/1 which supplements the guidance contained in Practice Note 11: 'The Audit of Charities in the UK' by providing illustrative examples of auditor's reports for charities that are registered:
- In England and Wales,
- In Scotland, and
- In both jurisdictions.
Recent changes in UK company law and charities legislation in both England and Wales and Scotland affect the appropriate wording to be used in auditor reports. The interaction between this legislation, and the existence of different audit exemption thresholds in company law and charity law, results in a degree of complexity.
The illustrative auditor's reports for corporate charities included in Bulletin 2009/1 are based on the Companies Act 1985 and are targeted at charities with 31 March 2009 year ends. For corporate charities with accounting periods beginning on or after 6 April 2008 the Companies Act 2006 will apply and APB plans to update the Bulletin to reflect this later in 2009.