Two-thirds of charities that plan to cut staff numbers in their finance teams this year will have to make people compulsorily redundant, results from the latest Finance Team Survey suggest.

In the latest survey carried out by Charity Finance, 11 per cent of the 107 charities that took part said they would definitely have to cut finance staff in the next 12 months, while a further 27 per cent said they might have to.

This is far higher than in previous years.  Last year 4 per cent said they would have to reduce staff numbers and 15 per cent said they might have to, while in 2011 the response was 8 per cent and 8 per cent respectively.

But perhaps just as worrying is the increase in the proportion of charities that will have to instigate compulsory redundancies in order to effect the reduction in headcount.

In 2011, 43 per cent of those making cuts expected to require compulsory redundancies, with 48 per cent relying on natural wastage.  In 2012 those predicting forced redundancies fell to 33 per cent, while natural wastage accounted for 34 per cent.  

But this year, just 17 per cent said the cuts could be achieved through natural wastage and 66 per cent predicted that compulsory redundancies would be needed, suggesting that any spare excess has already been trimmed in most charities.

The Finance Team Survey (previously called the Finance Function Survey) also provides details on finance director salaries and benefits, use of temps, consultants and interim managers, and assessments of the financial expertise of trustee boards.  Subscribers to civilsociety.co.uk can read the full survey here.