Smith & Williamson has become an integral part of our team. They have taken time to understand our needs and are proactive in giving us relevant advice. We look forward to a long lasting partnership with them.
Charities and education
Sound financial planning and effective governance are vital to a charity’s reputation and success. This can place a significant burden on Trustees.
The challenges of evolving regulations and public benefit requirements, maintaining a reliable funding stream and keeping on top of employer responsibilities can be a tricky balancing act for charities, large and small. An effective investment policy is also essential to achieve a charity’s goals and demonstrate that Trustees are fulfilling their duty of care.
Similarly, schools and other educational institutions with charitable status need to be confident about their financial future.
You can rely on Smith & Williamson for a wide range of advice and support tailored to help your charity reach its full potential. This can include:
- Advice and health checks on all aspects of governance
- Accounting, audit and regulatory compliance
- Tax advice, including on trading activities, property transactions, gift aid and VAT
- Mergers, transaction support and due diligence reviews
- Helping charities in financial difficulty through restructuring or formal insolvency procedures
- Active management of your charity’s investment portfolio
- Independent strategic planning and advice
Our credentials
Focused
Our team can act as a sounding board for trustees and management to identify potential issues based on experience of working with hundreds of charities of all types and sizes, as well as financial reviews of charities for funders and government bodies.
Supportive
Our charity and education experts can help you manage risks, assess whether you meet the public benefit requirements and comply with regulations so you can run your organisation with confidence. We can also introduce you to other relevant experts, such as lawyers, who specialise in the sector.
Specialist
Our charity tax and accountancy specialists can assist with the complexities of gift aid, VAT and financial reporting, which all pose unique challenges to the sector. Where charities are experiencing financial difficulty our specialist restructuring and insolvency team can advise on the options and next steps.
Understanding
You’ll have access to invaluable direct experience and a genuine understanding of the challenges facing trustees from our people, some of whom act as trustees for charitable organisations in their spare time or have been appointed as interim managers of charities by the Charity Commission.
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