Regulators from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are set to become formal co-creators of the Charities SORP, the set of rules which governs charity accounting.
The Financial Reporting Council has agreed that the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (CCNI) and the Charities Regulatory Authority for the Republic of Ireland can be added as joint members of the SORP-making body, which develops the framework.
Until now, charities in Northern Ireland have been required to follow the SORP, but only the Charity Commission for England and Wales and the Scottish charity regulator OSCR have made up the SORP-making body, though CCNI has sat as an observer member on the advisory SORP Committee.
In the Republic of Ireland, the SORP framework exists only as recommended best practice for charities, although its charities regulator also sits as an observer member on the SORP Committee. The move for the Republic’s regulator to join the SORP-making body is subject to regulations being passed that formalise the SORP’s use in that country.
The four regulators will begin working together on the next incarnation of the SORP from January 2019.
Frances McCandless, chief executive of The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, said: “This renewed partnership will allow us to work closely together to create a high quality reporting and accounting framework for charities that can command the confidence of donors and funders across the UK and Ireland.”
John Farrelly, chief executive of the Charities Regulatory Authority for the Republic of Ireland, said: “We welcome this step and are confident that this collaboration will result in an effective common reporting and accounting framework suitable for all four jurisdictions that also respects the unique reporting requirements for both Ireland and the UK.”
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