A guide to third sector trading - WCVA

More documents

Recommendations

Info

It’s an idea, but is it business? A guide to third sector trading 1: Getting started 2: First steps 3: Business planning 4: Legal and governance 5: Funding and resourcing 6: Financial controls 7: Managing growth 8: Management and governance 9: Social enterprise 10: Sources of support Charitable Incorporated Organisations (CIOs) A better option for charitable companies: The new CIO structure, which is due to come into operation in 2011, combines the previous two tier process of registering a company limited by guarantee and then registering it as a charity. The following compelling list of advantages have been persuasively advanced by the UK government, and it is hard to see why new charitable companies in future would want to use the former approach. It remains to be seen whether it is worthwhile for existing charitable companies to convert to CIOs. • Single registration: A CIO will need to register with the Charity Commission alone, whereas a charity that is a company needs to register with the Charity Commission and the Registrar of Companies. A major problem up to now has been that there was often no assurance that the charitable objectives of the limited company would be acceptable to the Charity Commission. • A single annual return and simpler reporting: A CIO will be required to prepare only one annual report, under the Charities Act 1993. A CIO will make one annual return under charity law, whereas a charity that is a company must prepare an annual return under company law and, if it has an annual income of over £10,000, it must prepare a separate annual return under charity law. • Simpler filing requirements: A CIO will be required to send its accounts, reports and returns to the Charity Commission, whereas a charity that is a company also needs to send them to the Registrar of Companies. • Simpler requirements on changing the constitution: A CIO does not need to report to the Registrar of Companies. • Lower costs: The Charity Commission does not make any charges for registration and filing of information. • Other benefits: − simpler constitutional forms, and, it is claimed, greater constitutional flexibility − easier charity mergers − an enforcement regime that does not penalise the CIO itself for misconduct by its directors. • Conversion: It will be extremely simple to convert charitable companies and charitable industrial and provident societies to CIOs. Converting charitable trusts and unincorporated associations to CIOs should also be relatively straightforward. 94
It’s an idea, but is it business? A guide to third sector trading 1: Getting started 2: First steps 3: Business planning 4: Legal and governance 5: Funding and resourcing 6: Financial controls 7: Managing growth 8: Management and governance 9: Social enterprise 10: Sources of support 4.5 Community interest companies Community interest companies represent both a big step forward in the state’s recognition of social enterprise in the UK and a disappointing missed opportunity to help smaller third sector businesses. While they undoubtedly have their place for more substantial and asset-rich ventures, opinion is divided on their value for community-based organisations, and predictably they have so far had only limited impact. What are CICs about? The new structure: • Background: CIC’s were set up under the 2004 Companies Acts with the stated aim of creating a new type of company whose profits will be used for the public good. • The government’s stated aims were: − to reduce the costs and complexity of setting up trading organisations which operate on a ‘not for profit’ basis for community benefit − help to raise the profile of ‘social enterprise’ − help companies which are run for community and social interest to access finance. The ‘asset lock’: • Until the arrival of CICs there was no simple, clear way of locking assets of limited companies to a public benefit purpose, other than charitable status. This meant that buildings and other property owned by organisations that trade for community benefit were vulnerable, particularly if enterprises undertook major commercially-funded investments. • The community interest company provides a transparent, flexible model safeguard or ‘lock in’ for assets to ensure they are retained for community benefit. The format is intended to be both clearly defined and easily recognised. • Charities provide the same protection, but with more regulation and more restrictions on the trading which companies undertake. 95
Page 1 and 2:
It’s an idea, but is it business?
Page 3 and 4:
Page 5 and 6:
Page 7 and 8:
Page 9 and 10:
Page 11 and 12:
Page 13 and 14:
Page 15 and 16:
Page 17 and 18:
Page 19 and 20:
Page 21 and 22:
Page 23 and 24:
Page 25 and 26:
Page 27 and 28:
Page 29 and 30:
Page 31 and 32:
Page 33 and 34:
Page 35 and 36:
Page 37 and 38:
Page 39 and 40:
Page 41 and 42:
Page 43 and 44:
Page 45 and 46: It’s an idea, but is it business?
Page 95: It’s an idea, but is it business?
Page 147 and 148:
Page 149 and 150:
Page 151 and 152:
Page 153 and 154:
Page 155 and 156:
Page 157 and 158:
Page 159 and 160:
Page 161 and 162:
Page 163 and 164:
Page 165 and 166:
Page 167 and 168:
Page 169 and 170:
Page 171 and 172:
Page 173 and 174:
Page 175 and 176:
Page 177 and 178:
Page 179 and 180:
Page 181 and 182:
Page 183 and 184:
Page 185 and 186:
Page 187 and 188:
Page 189 and 190:
Page 191 and 192:
Page 193 and 194:
Page 195 and 196:
Page 197 and 198:
Page 199 and 200:
Page 201 and 202:
Page 203 and 204:
Page 205 and 206:
Page 207 and 208:
Page 209 and 210:
Page 211 and 212:
Page 213 and 214:
Page 215 and 216:
Page 217 and 218:
Page 219 and 220:
Page 221 and 222:
Page 223 and 224:
Page 225 and 226:
Page 227 and 228:
Page 229 and 230:
Page 231 and 232:
Page 233 and 234:
Page 235 and 236:
Page 237 and 238:
Page 239 and 240:
Page 241 and 242:
Page 243 and 244:
Page 245 and 246:
Page 247 and 248:
Page 249 and 250:
Page 251 and 252:
Page 253 and 254:
Page 255 and 256:
Page 257 and 258:
Page 259 and 260:
Page 261:
show all

A guide to third sector trading - WCVA

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?