Parish councils & registered charities

The dates are fixed.
So is the standard.

Internal audit for parish and town councils. Independent examination of charity accounts. Carried out by a chartered management accountant who has sat on the other side of the desk as a Responsible Financial Officer.

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The parish council year

STATUTORY DEADLINES · ENGLAND
31 MARCH Financial year endsRecords close. Bank balances fixed at this date, every account.
APR – JUN Internal audit carried outAnnual Internal Audit Report completed within the AGAR.
BEFORE 30 JUN Section 1 approved, then Section 2In that order. Approving them the wrong way round is a reportable matter.
30 WORKING DAYS Public rights periodExactly thirty, and it must include the first ten working days of July. Notice published beforehand.
BY 30 SEP Conclusion of audit publishedAnd kept available for five years afterwards.
The two marked in red are where councils most often come unstuck. Neither is difficult. Both are unforgiving, and an external auditor will find them.
What we do

Two pieces of work. Both statutory, both to a deadline.

Everything is done remotely. You send the records, we do the work, you get the report in time for the meeting you have to take it to.

Parish & town councils

Internal audit

Every local council must have an effective internal audit each year. We complete the Annual Internal Audit Report in your AGAR and give you a written report with an action plan you can minute.

  • Every control objective covered, with the reasoning recorded
  • The common AGAR errors checked before your external auditor finds them
  • Independent — we never provide your finance function
  • Fixed fee by council size, agreed before we start
Registered charities

Independent examination

Charities above the income threshold must have their accounts examined. We follow the Charity Commission's Directions in full and give trustees a report they can file with confidence.

  • Receipts and payments, or accruals accounts
  • Examiner qualified for charities above the higher threshold
  • Accounts preparation available separately where permitted
  • Fixed fee, agreed before we start
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Three things people get wrong. Check yours in a minute.

Built because these are the questions we are asked most often, and the ones most often answered incorrectly.

Charities

Audit or independent examination?

The thresholds changed for years ending on or after 30 September 2026. Find out which applies, and who is legally allowed to do it.

CHECK YOUR CHARITY →
Parish councils

Public rights period calculator

Thirty working days, and it must include the first ten working days of July. Enter your dates and see whether the period is compliant.

CALCULATE DATES →
Parish councils

Are you exempt from review?

Under £25,000 income and expenditure — but loans, grants, CIL and VAT refunds all count, and are routinely left out.

CHECK YOUR FIGURES →
Who does the work

Someone who has kept the records, not just checked them.

Peter Edwards ACMA CGMA. A chartered management accountant and finance director — and before that a Responsible Financial Officer and Deputy Town Clerk. The AGAR, the precept, the reserves policy, the minute that has to be worded correctly: familiar territory, from the inside.

Most internal auditors in this sector work alone and are close to retirement. The commonest complaint from clerks is not about the quality of the work. It is that nobody replies.

We reply. Fixed fees agreed in advance, a clear list of what we need, and the report back in time for the meeting it has to reach.

Glebe Assurance is the assurance arm of Insight Professional Partners, a chartered accountancy practice. The practice does bookkeeping, management accounts and finance-function work — but never for a council or charity it audits or examines. You get one or the other from us, never both. That is not a limitation to apologise for. It is the entire basis on which an independent examination or an internal audit means anything at all.

Qualification
ACMA CGMA — Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
Sector experience
Former Responsible Financial Officer and Deputy Town Clerk
Part of
Insight Professional Partners Ltd — chartered accountancy practice
Independence
We never provide bookkeeping, accounts preparation or finance-function services to a client we audit or examine
Coverage
Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, Rutland, Lincolnshire — and remotely nationwide

Tell us your year end. We will tell you the fee.

No forms and no sales call. Send the size of your council or charity and your financial year end, and you will get a fixed quote and a list of exactly what we need from you.