Definition
The trustees' annual report is the narrative report that accompanies a charity's accounts each year. It explains what the charity set out to do, what it achieved, how it was governed and its financial position.
What it contains
- Objectives and activities: the charity’s purposes and what it did in the year to pursue them.
- A public benefit statement.
- Achievements and performance.
- Financial review: the year’s results, the reserves policy and any funds in deficit.
- Structure, governance and management: how the charity is constituted and how trustees are appointed.
- Reference details: the charity’s name, registration number, address, trustees and advisers.
Larger charities must say more, including their plans and the main risks they face. The detailed requirements are in the Charities SORP.
Who approves and files it
The trustees approve the report and one of them signs it. It is filed with the accounts at the Charity Commission and published on the register. For a charitable company the same document also serves as the directors’ report required by company law.
In Tax Optimiser
A CIO attaches its signed trustees’ annual report and accounts to the Corporation Tax return as a single PDF.