CFG submitted a response to the government on Thursday 12 June, after a 10-week consultation to review financial thresholds in charity law. In our response, CFG supported the raising of thresholds in line with inflation.
After the announcement of the consultation, CFG launched a survey to get feedback from the charity sector on the issue of financial thresholds, and we received comprehensive feedback from 69 charities.
CFG has argued for many years that the audit threshold should be raised in line with inflation, in order to save charities time and money. These thoughts were echoed by many charities who responded to our survey, with 69% supporting an increase in the threshold in line with inflation.
Inflationary increases in recent years have meant that more small organisations (those with lower incomes) are caught by additional layers of regulation where they were not captured previously.
Additionally, 89% of charities that responded to our survey stated that the cost of audit had either increased or increased a lot in the past year.
Many charities struggle to find an auditor, with only a quarter (22%) of respondents answering that it is ‘not difficult’. Many commented that the larger non-charity specialist firms are not interested in smaller charities as clients. This means that firms specialising in charities have seen increased demand and have felt pressure to increase prices.
In addition to supporting the raising of thresholds in line with inflation, we also argued that this consultation should be considered in tandem with the charities SORP consultation, as there is a clear overlap between the two. That consultation is still currently open and will close on Friday 20 June.
CFG would like to thank all those who took the time to provide feedback via our survey, which directly informed our response to this consultation.
Editor’s notes
Reports
- Charity Banking Challenges 2024, 27 November 2024, CFG/NCVO/Civil Society Group
- Research with trustees 2025, 8 July 2025, Charity Commission for England and Wales
About CFG
CFG is the charity and membership organisation that supports other charitable organisations to make the biggest difference possible. We do this by helping them to make their money and resources go further, by putting financial leadership at the heart of their decision-making. Since CFG was founded in 1987, we have evolved to welcome all finance professionals working for charitable and social change organisations. We also welcome non-finance professionals who recognise that we deliver greater impact when we are financially confident, trustworthy and dynamic. Today, CFG’s vibrant community manages around one third of the UK’s entire charity sector income. We are a diverse and inclusive community of people who are passionate about delivering impact through financial leadership. Together, we lead the way for charity finance.