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Getting started

Published: 12/03/2025
Updated: 23/04/2025

The TAR may form part of your annual accounts, but that doesn’t mean you have to wait for the final numbers before you can start writing. Preparing the TAR can be an ongoing process.

You might decide to have a dedicated charity trustee meeting to bring together ideas, or the preparation of the TAR could be a standing item on the agenda for charity trustee meetings so that it can be thought about on an ongoing basis or drafted in stages.

The first step is to go back to basics and make sure that you understand the purposes of your charity:

  1. Look at your governing document to make sure you understand the charity’s purposes and that they reflect what the charity is actually doing. If not you may need to consider what you are doing or if the purposes need to be changed. See Being a Charity in Scotland and Making changes to your charity for more information.
  2. Once you are clear on the charity’s purpose(s) you need to explain how the activities have advanced those purposes, or show what difference the charity has made in trying to achieve those purposes. News items on your website and reports for funders can be useful sources of information to include in the TAR.
  3. Think about how the charity has actually been running and its finances.  Does the charity have reserves and a reserves policy? Being clear about the activities of the charity should help you to develop a policy if you do not already have one. See our Charity Reserves Guidance for more information.

However you approach writing your TAR, remember who your target audience is, and identify the key messages you want them to remember.

1. Take control
The charity trustees own the report. Make sure you are in control of what the report says and how it looks.
2. Tell your story
Why was your charity set up? Who does your charity help? What was done (outputs)? What was achieved (outcomes)? What difference was made (impact)?
3. Use the opportunity to speak to people
Trustees' Annual Reports are one the ways charities can interact with the public. Use the report to explain to people what you are doing and how they could help.
4. Be creative
Don't get bogged down in lots of text and jargon. Use pictures, charts, photos and videos to explain what you have done and the difference you have made.
5. Don't forget the legal bits
All charities have to include certain information in the Trustees' Annual Report. What you need to include depends on the type of accounts you produce.
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