Can a CIMA member be a charity independent examiner?

Yes. The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants is one of the bodies listed in section 145 of the Charities Act 2011, so a CIMA member can act as independent examiner for charities above the income level at which a professionally qualified examiner is required.

What are the charity independent examination thresholds from 30 September 2026?

For financial years ending on or after 30 September 2026, an independent examination is required where gross income exceeds £40,000, the examiner must be professionally qualified where income exceeds £500,000, and a statutory audit is required where income exceeds £1.5 million.

Charity Independent Examination | Insight Professional Partners

Q: Can a charity choose an independent examination instead of an audit?

For financial years ending on or after 30 September 2026 the audit threshold rises from £1 million to £1.5 million, so charities in that band may be able to have an independent examination instead of a statutory audit, provided no other legal requirement for an audit applies, such as a constitutional requirement or funder condition.

The change most trustees have not been told about

From 30 September 2026, some charities can stop paying for an audit

The audit threshold rises from £1 million to £1.5 million for financial years ending on or after 30 September 2026. A charity in that band, with no other legal requirement to be audited, may be able to have an independent examination instead — a lighter and less expensive form of scrutiny. Above £500,000 the examiner must be professionally qualified, and CIMA is one of the listed bodies.

These are the thresholds, before and after. They apply to a charity's financial year ending on or after 30 September 2026 — a year ending before that date still uses the old figures.

Requirement	Year ending before 30 Sep 2026	Year ending on or after
Accounts must be independently examined	Income over £25,000	Income over £40,000
Examiner must be professionally qualified	Income over £250,000	Income over £500,000
Statutory audit required	Income over £1 million	Income over £1.5 million
Receipts and payments accounts permitted	Income under £250,000	Income under £500,000

Two things follow, and they pull in opposite directions.

Smaller charities need less. If your income is between £25,000 and £40,000 you may not need an examination at all for your next year end. We will tell you that rather than quote you for work you do not need.

Larger charities have a choice they did not have before. If your income sits between £1 million and £1.5 million, you have probably been audited for years and assumed you had no option. Unless your governing document requires an audit, or a funder does, you may now be able to take an independent examination instead — at a fraction of the cost and with far less disruption to your team.

Whether that is right for your charity depends on your constitution, your funders and your trustees' own view of what assurance they want. It is a decision to take with your eyes open, not automatically.

Who can examine

Above £500,000 the examiner must come from a listed body

Below that income level a charity can appoint anyone the trustees reasonably believe has the requisite ability and practical experience. Above it, section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 restricts the field to members of bodies named in the Act.

The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants is one of them. So the examination can be carried out here, at any income level, right up to the point where an audit becomes compulsory.

We do not carry out statutory audits, and we will say so plainly if your charity needs one. Where that is the case we will tell you and point you to a registered auditor rather than take the engagement.

Independence matters as much as qualification. An examiner cannot be a trustee, cannot be involved in the charity's administration, and cannot have a close connection that would compromise the report. We check that before accepting an engagement, not after.

What the examination involves

A defined piece of work, carried out to the Commission's Directions

An independent examination is not an audit. It does not give a true and fair opinion. It is a review carried out under the Charity Commission's Directions in CC32, and it is proportionate to the size of the charity.

Records

Accounting records

We check that proper accounting records have been kept, as the Act requires, and that the accounts agree back to them.

Analysis

Analytical review

Comparison against the prior year and against expectations, with explanations sought where figures move in ways that are not obvious.

Funds

Restricted funds

The most common weakness we see. Restricted income spent on unrestricted purposes, or fund balances that have never been reconciled.

Reserves

Reserves policy

Whether the charity has one, whether it is stated in the trustees' report, and whether actual free reserves bear any relation to it.

Report

Trustees' annual report

Checked for consistency with the accounts and for the content the Commission expects at your size of charity.

Output

The examiner's report

Signed, in the form the Commission requires, ready to file with the accounts and the annual return.

And a note on being behind. If your accounts are already overdue on the register, that is more common than trustees think — small charities run on volunteers and the examination is usually the thing that waits. It is fixable, and being late is not a reason to put it off further.

Who does the work

One qualified examiner, personally accountable

I'm Peter Edwards, a CIMA-qualified Chartered Management Accountant with twenty-five years of senior finance experience, and a Member in Practice holding a regulated practising certificate.

Charity work is a deliberate part of the practice rather than an afterthought. I also carry out internal audit for parish and town councils, and I have provided free financial support to a local community charity through a capital funding bid.

You deal with me throughout. No junior doing the work and a partner signing it, because there is no junior and no partner.

Peter Edwards ACMA CGMAChartered Management Accountant, CIMA Member in Practice
Listed under s.145 Charities Act 2011CIMA is a body named in the Act for qualified examiners
25 years senior finance experienceHead of Finance roles across three sectors
Professional Indemnity InsuredFull PI cover, AML supervised, ICO registered
Public sector assuranceInternal audit for parish and town councils; former RFO and Deputy Town Clerk
No statutory auditIf your charity needs an audit we will tell you and refer you on

Fees

Fixed, and agreed before anything starts

An examination fee depends on the size of the charity, the number of funds and the state of the records. Quoting a figure without seeing any of that would either overcharge you or commit us to work we have not seen.

So the fee is quoted after a short conversation and confirmed in writing before the engagement begins. There is no hourly billing and no supplementary invoice at the end.

If the conversation establishes that you do not need an examination, or that you need a full audit, we will tell you that and there will be nothing to pay.

Charity Independent Examination