TS-FS-06
Trust & Stewardship
Financial Stewardship
CORE
Compliance
v2.9.7
Statutory accounts externally audited/examined with clean outcome and filed on time (all applicable regulators)
This criterion evaluates whether statutory accounts receive a clean external scrutiny outcome and are filed on time with all relevant regulators (e.g., Charity Commission, OSCR, CCNI, Companies House). For audit, this means an unmodified (unqualified) opinion with no emphasis-of-matter indicating material uncertainty. For independent examination, this means an examiner’s report with no adverse conclusions and no matters of material significance reported to the regulator.
Assessment Questions
- Does the organization produce annual financial statements that are audited or independently examined by a qualified external professional?
- How did trustees document whether an audit was legally required this year (thresholds/governing document/funder requirements)?
- Over the past three years, what type of audit opinion or independent examination report has the organization received?
- What evidence demonstrates submission/acceptance dates for each regulator and days early/late?
- Were any filings rejected (e.g., Companies House), and how was resubmission controlled to still meet deadlines?
- Is there a formally documented and approved process for the year-end financial closing and external audit, including timelines and responsibilities?
- How does the organization demonstrate exemplary transparency (Iḥsān) by sharing its financial health and audit outcomes with non-regulatory stakeholders?
- Is there a documented going concern and reserves assessment paper reviewed by trustees?
- Is there an action tracker for ISA 260/265 findings with owners and due dates?
Evidence Requirements
- Copies of the complete audited/examined financial statements for the last three fiscal years.
- External auditor/examiner engagement letter/terms (each year) and trustees’ appointment/reappointment minute.
- Annual independence confirmation and non-audit services register (if any).
- Filing timeliness log showing submission/acceptance date and days early/late per regulator.
- Proof of timely submission to regulatory bodies (e.g., submission receipts, official acknowledgements, portal screenshots).
- The organization's documented policy or procedure for financial closing and audit management (RACI/Stage-gates).
- Board/Trustee minutes approving TAR and accounts with signatory names/dates.
- Auditor’s management letter and ISA 260/265 communications for each year (or examiner’s report correspondence).
- Letter of representation.
- Going concern and reserves assessment paper with cashflow forecasts, scenarios, and covenant checks.
- Action tracker for recommendations showing closure status.
Scoring Guidelines
| Level | Rating | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 5/5 | 100% unqualified/no reportable matters and 100% on-time across all regulators for last 3 years; average filing ≥30 days early; zero repeat audit findings; proactive transparency (plain-English summary published). |
| 4 | 4/5 | 100% unqualified/no reportable matters and 100% on-time for last 3 years; filed by deadline (≥0 days early); minor non-repeat findings. |
| 3 | 3/5 | 1 late filing OR 1 year with minor disclosure issue resolved pre-signing in last 3 years; no qualifications. |
| 2 | 2/5 | Any qualification OR ≥2 late filings in last 3 years. |
| 1 | 1/5 | Adverse/disclaimer opinion, missed filings leading to penalties/regulatory intervention (e.g., inquiry, default notices). |
Discussion (1)
Administrator
2026-03-07 11:07:47.913707
📋 **Version updated: 1.0.0 → 2.9.7** **Changes:** Updated islamic_references from mizan-297.json
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