The Small Charity Finance List
This list is a work in progress. It is a living, breathing list of all the finance resources for small charities that we signpost to regularly, with some additional recommendations by small charities and people who work with small charities. All additions welcome.
It all starts with good financial governance
- Charity Commission The Essential Trustee
- Charity Commission 5-minute guide to finance
- Charity Commission Financial Resilience Toolkit
- ICAEW Free Online Trustee Finance Training
Test your knowledge
- Charity Commission Trustee quiz 2024
- Charity Commission Financial Resilience quick check
- Charity Finance Group Checklists
Helpful resources for Trustees
- Association of Chairs guide on financial leadership in small charities
- ACEVO’s A Gentle Guide for the Non-Financial Charity Trustee
- Charity Finance Group - Essential Finance for Trustees
Helpful resources relating to Treasurers
- Charity Finance Group role description
- The Charity Treasurer’s Handbook
- #CountMeIn
- Honorary Treasurer's Forum
Helpful example committee terms of references
Next we need a good finance cycle
An overview of the finance cycle
A budget and a cashflow forecast
- National Lottery Community Fund – Full Cost Recovery
- Bayes Business School – Cost Recovery
- Our blog on cashflow forecasts
- Charity Commission guidance CC15d on reporting and accounting
- Not sure what type of accounts to prepare? Check here
- Charity Commission Receipts and Payments Annual Accounts Template
- Charity Commission Accruals Accounts Template
- Charity Commission example accounts
- The Charities SORP
- A technical note on converting from cash to accruals accounting for small charities
Which have been externally scrutinised
- Charity Commission guidance for Trustees on independent examinations
- Charity Commission guidance to Independent Examiners on reporting matters of material significance
- Association of Independent Examiners
A good set of financial controls
- Charity Commission financial controls guidance
- Charity Commission financial controls checklist
- NCVO Financial procedures manual
A reserves policy
- Charity Commission CC19 Reserves and Resilience
- Example reserves policy from the Charity Commission for a smallish charity (£500kpa)
- Sayer Vincent’s Reserves Made Simple
- IVAR’s report on the benefits of strategic reserves management
- Bond’s report on building reserves for financial resilience
- Charity leaders talking about reserves
- CAF's approach to treasury management and reserves
- Claiming gift aid as a charity
- Charities and Tax
- Charity Tax Group
- Charity Commission CC35, Charities Trading and Tax
- Sayer Vincent’s Gift Aid Made Simple
- Employer's National Insurance Allowance
- Charitable Business Rate Relief
- VAT
Where to start with banking
Where to start with payroll
- To register with HMRC as an employer
- To set up payroll
- To read up on the changes to the employer's national insurance from 6 April 2025
- NCVO guidance pages
- Charity Commission guidance on managing financial difficulties
- Charity Commission guidance on filing serious incident reports
- Arts Council England Managing Financial Difficulties
- ACCA Going concern and the alternative basis of accounts preparation
- Saffery Champness note on on assessing going concern status
- The Decelerator
- HMRC's redundancy calculator
Build your financial confidence
Where to start with asking smarter questions
- Charity Commission 15 finance questions
- Lloyds Bank Foundation’s Guide to Organisational Resilience
- New Philanthropy Capital’s The Little Blue Book
- Our guide on financial resilience leadership skills
Where to find free and affordable charity finance training
Small Print
- Working in the commons At Embrace Finance we believe the world’s problems are too tricky to resolve without sharing and learning together. Our resources are provided on a Creative Commons License basis. Please read these terms when using https://www.embracefinance.org.uk/open-working-commitment
- Disclaimer Any guidance provided herewith is illustrative only and is not intended to replace professional advice. Please consult an appropriately qualified professional adviser as appropriate.
- Third Party Disclaimer When working with Third Parties the usual caveats apply. Always due your due diligence.
