Welcome to the latest edition of our International and Fundraising Briefing, where we provide updates and insights on accounting, tax, reporting and governance for international and fundraising charities.
We often talk about uncertainty in the sector, and with the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel/Gaza continuing, together with political change in US, cuts to UK foreign aid budgets and pressures from the cost of living crisis continuing, we can certainly point at a sector which faces uncertainty for the foreseeable future. As ever this presents numerous challenges, though for some parts of the sector those challenges may also bring opportunities.
In this issue we begin with an article from myself on the potential impacts from the Stop Work Order issued by the US Government over the activities of USAID. A fast moving area where being prepared for all eventualities will be vital.
We follow with a timely article on avoiding the common pitfalls of Gift Aid. In this article Louise Veragoo, Director goes through the latest guidance and opportunities around claiming Gift Aid.
Nick Bustin, Director and Dinesh Pancholi, Senior Manager from our Employment tax team run through travel expenses when working overseas and where you need to be careful to avoid falling into tax traps.
Andrew Roberts, Senior Manager, has pulled together a response to the recent Charity Commission inquiry into the Quba Trust, outlining some key areas where Trustees need to be pro-active with how their charities are governed together with some practical steps you can take to protect your charity from fraud and/or misuse of charitable funds.
Lastly, we turn to Adam Halsey, Partner who gives some top tips for charities working with corporate bodies, including how to make and document key decisions together with key steps to monitor your relationship with corporate bodies on an ongoing basis.
I hope you enjoy reading through this edition and find these articles of some interest. Do feel free to let the articles’ authors, me or your regular contact know if you have any questions or queries arising. We would be happy to help and look forward to sending you the next edition of our briefing later in the year.
