Charity trustees' responsibilities in Scotland

Scottish charities answer to OSCR, the Scottish Charity Regulator, under rules that differ from England and Wales in ways that matter. If you’re a trustee, this is the landscape you’re responsible for.

The core duties

Under the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, trustees must act in the charity’s interests, operate with the care and diligence of someone managing another person’s affairs, act consistently with the charity’s purposes, and comply with the Act — including keeping OSCR informed of changes to the charity’s details. These duties are personal: they sit with you, not with your accountant.

Accounts: which kind?

• Receipts and payments accounts — a simpler cash-based format available to non-company charities with gross income under £250,000 (raised from £100,000 by the 2025 amendment regulations).
• Fully accrued accounts — required above that, and for charitable companies of any size, following the Charities SORP with fund accounting and a trustees’ annual report.

Every Scottish charity files its accounts with OSCR annually, within 9 months of the year end, along with the online annual return.

External scrutiny: examination or audit?

Every Scottish charity — no matter how small — needs some form of external scrutiny. The question is which:

• Independent examination is the proportionate option for most charities. For receipts-and-payments accounts the examiner doesn’t need a professional qualification; for accrued accounts, they do.
• Audit becomes compulsory when gross income reaches the statutory threshold — £1,000,000 for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2026 (previously £500,000) — or where your constitution, a funder, or another enactment requires one.

That 2026 threshold change is significant: many mid-sized Scottish charities that previously needed a full audit can now opt for an independent examination instead — a genuine cost saving, provided your governing document doesn’t still insist on an audit. It’s worth checking yours; we can help amend the requirement properly if it’s outdated.

Reserves, restricted funds, and transparency

Restricted funds must be spent on the purpose they were given for — tracking this is what fund accounting exists to do. A short, honest reserves policy in the trustees’ report reads far better to funders than a large unexplained balance.

How we help

We prepare SORP-compliant charity accounts, carry out independent examinations, and — as ACCA-registered auditors — conduct full charity audits when the thresholds or your constitution demand one. Charity work is one of our founding specialisms, led personally by Sadia.