8. Providing information to the public

Transparency and accountability in charity finances supports public confidence in charities.

Every charity in Scotland is legally required to prepare a trustees’ annual report and accounts and to submit these to OSCR. These are published on the Scottish Charity Register if the charity is a SCIO or its income is £25,000 or more. Where the charity has income of £250,000 or more or where it is a company of any size, it must prepare its accounts in line with the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP). 

The SORP has specific requirements for the trustees’ annual report in relation to investments where the charity has income of £500,000 or more. These include: 

• An explanation of the charity’s investment policy and objectives set where the charity holds material financial investments. This should include an explanation of the extent to which the policy takes into account social, environmental or ethical factors into consideration.
• A description of its social investment policies (where social investments form a material part of charitable and investment activities) and an explanation of how any programme-related investments contributed to the achievement of its aims and objectives.

There are also further requirements that need to be understood - more information is available in the SORP on how investments must be accounted for and what information must be included in the charity’s annual report and accounts about investments.