Only half of grantmakers check applicant charities' filing history on the Charity Commission website, and of those less than one in five will reject applications out of hand from those charities that file late.

A study of 263 funders found that 53 per cent checked the Charity Commission for the accounts of applicant charities, and of those 17 per cent would immediately reject applications from charities which had not submitted their records to the regulator on time. The remaining 83 per cent said that they would ask the charities why the accounts had been tardy.

The revelation has prompted the Directory of Social Change, which compiled the figures, to push charities to file their accounts on time, and to stop making excuses.

The Charity Commission has been encouraging charities to file on time for years, and highlights late filers on its website by adding a red border to their entry. The Commission’s own research found that more than a third of accounts filed late had actually been ready and signed-off on time, and that 39 per cent of accounts it received late had been submitted to Companies House in good time.

On grantmaker interviewed by DSC said: “We will refuse an application if there is no reasonable explanation. We do this because it is prima facie evidence of poor management which may indicate that the organisation will not manage the grants we make effectively.” 

Earlier this year, the Commission's head of information Sarah Atkinson said the Commission was considering advising donors not to give to charities that fail to file on time.

A charity founded by the Commission's own chair, William Shawcross, sported a red border for four years before he joined the regulator as it did not bother to comply with filing deadlines.