The number of charities filing accounts late surged 51% to 17,773 in 2023/24 from 11,778 the previous year revealed data from the Charity Commission. The lateness of accounts is ‘a sign of the financial stress facing the sector’, said chartered accountants and business advisors Lubbock Fine.

Falling donations and government funding cuts are creating more uncertainty over the financial position of many charities. This has led to job cuts and reduced expenditure, which has affected their finance and accounts departments. This reduced resource, as well as the complexity of charity accounting regulations, means they are struggling to meet deadlines or delaying the filing of accounts.