Members of Chartered Accountants Ireland engage with charities in many ways — as employees, advisors, board members and volunteers. These charity pages provide guidance on key areas that accountants may encounter when acting for, or working with, a charity.
Charities in Ireland and the UK play a vital role in addressing a wide range of societal needs, including healthcare, education, poverty alleviation, and environmental protection. The size of the sector is substantial, with close to 20,000 charities registered with the Charities Regulator in the Republic of Ireland and the Charities Commission for Northern Ireland. Collectively, these charities manage billions of pounds and euros of incoming resources each year and use these resources in the furtherance of their charitable purpose.
Both Ireland and the UK have regulatory frameworks which are designed to ensure transparency and accountability within the charity sector. Four separate regulators oversee the sector across five jurisdictions. These frameworks help maintain public trust and confidence in charitable organizations by regulating the sector and ensuring compliance with charity law and regulations. The relevant authorities are;
Furthermore, given their distinct nature and the increased need for transparency and public trust, charities are subject to varying financial reporting and assurance requirements which are addressed on the links below.
Recording and slides from Charities SORP webinar available
Dec 19, 2025
On 18 December the Ulster Society hosted a webinar on the Charities SORP 2026, which sets out a new framework aimed at enhancing transparency and better reflecting the wide range of charity sizes and structures. This webinar looks at the upcoming changes, including:
Some of the key updates to the Charity SORP
A deeper dive into some of the areas more impacted by the changes, such as the Trustee’s Annual Report
Consideration of the new Leasing rules and some common issues that charities might have to navigate
Analysis of the new revenue recognition rules and how this might impact the typical sources of Income that charities are in receipt of
Consideration of how accountants can prepare for the changes
A recording of this webinar is available to view, for free and on demand, HERE
A pdf copy of the slides used in this presentation is available
HERE
These pages are provided as resources and information only and nothing in these pages purports to provide professional or legal advice or definitive legal interpretation(s) or opinion(s) on the applicable legislation or legal or other matters referred to in the pages. If the reader is in doubt on any matter in this complex area further legal or other advice must be obtained. While every reasonable care has been taken by the Institute in the preparation of these pages, we do not guarantee the accuracy or veracity of any resource, guidance, information or opinion, or the appropriateness, suitability or applicability of any practice or procedure contained therein. The Institute is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of the resources or information contained in these pages.
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