The charities Statements of Recommended Practice have been approved for publication by the Financial Reporting Council, the Charity Commission and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator announced today.

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC), which is the standard-setting body for UK accounting rules, approved the two Sorps at its board meeting on 22 May. The final documents will be published in the summer, possibly next month, the two regulators said.

One Sorp will be compulsory for charities over the company audit threshold – most of those with incomes over £6.5m – which must follow a new financial reporting standard developed by the FRC, known as FRS 102.

Smaller charities will be free to follow this Sorp or use the specialist Sorp for smaller entities, which will apply an existing standard, the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities, which applies to charities below the audit threshold. The new standard takes effect for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2015.

The Sorps are set by a committee of experts including representatives from the Commission and the OSCR, which are the joint Sorp-setting bodies, as well as auditors, finance directors and academics.

Sam Younger, chief executive of the Commission and joint chair of the Sorp Committee (pictured), said: “The FRC’s approval is a culmination of many years work; we and OSCR as are especially grateful to the members of the Sorp committee for their commitment and attention detail. The result is a high quality accounting and reporting framework for charities.”

The Sorp documents will be published on the Sorp micro-site.

In this month's Charity Finance, Helena Wilkinson, a partner at accountants Price Bailey, predicts that the regulators' plan for two Sorps will be short-lived.