The Accounting Clinic at the University of Edinburgh is a pro-bono service offering the voluntary sector registered UK charities (who fall under the £250,000 annual gross income threshold) their required annual independent examination.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland are aware that our students are taking initiative on community projects.

How it works

Clinics are led by second to fourth year Accounting & Finance students who are supervised by a UoE academic staff member who is a qualified accountant.

Student advisors will review the necessary club or charity accounts and as well as providing details of accounting control weaknesses. They will be supervised by our qualified academic staff who will be on hand to give advice, guidance and support. We have a vibrant team of accountants that are full-time academics within the University of Edinburgh’s Business School. Our academics will review all completed documentation and will sign-off the independent examination.

Client Confidentiality and Assurance

Only students who are performing well on their degree programme and who are committed to helping the voluntary sector are selected to be an Accounting Clinic Student Advisor. Student Advisors will be guided and supported throughout the whole process of the independent examination by fully qualified accounting academics.

FAQs

An independent examination (IE) is a limited review of a charity's accounts by an independent person to ensure that the charity's finances have been accounted for properly. IEs are less thorough than audits.

The IE is a limited form of check with the examiner only required to confirm whether any material matters of concern have come to their attention, unlike an auditor who has to comment on a “true and fair” view.

The Scottish legislation followed is the Charities (Regulation and Administration) (Scotland) Act 2023, which builds on existing charity law in Scotland. All charity trustees are required to prepare accounts for their charity.

The charity must be eligible to have an independent examination; to maintain public confidence in the work of charities, with the Charities (Regulation and Administration) (Scotland) Act 2023 setting out the reporting, filing and external scrutiny obligations on trustees.

The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) has a duty to publish accounts for all charities on the Scottish Charity Register, which is available to the public. OSCR only published accounts of charities with annual income exceeding £25,000 or of Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisations (SCIOs) but this is changing to all charities.

An IE involves reviewing the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also involves a review of the accounts and the consideration of any unusual/higher value items and/or disclosures provided.

No. This is a free service offered to all registered UK charities that fall under the £250,000 annual gross income threshold. All we need is for you to provide the necessary account details and work with our student and academics.

  • Bro Bono policy
  • Conflict of Interest Policy
  • Accounting Clinic Privacy Policy
  • Client Care

Can we help you?

If you are interested in working with the UoE students and you are a registered UK charity who meet the eligibility criteria (£250,000 annual gross income threshold), then please provide us with your club or charity’s name, charity number (where relevant) and a short message to: Angela.Cairns@ed.ac.uk.

Current clients

  • 19th Pentland Scout Group