This is a common and very reasonable question we hear from charities and community groups.
Many organisations assume that because their annual return has been accepted by Charities Services, their financial statements must also be approved. Unfortunately, that’s not quite how the system works.
Each year, nearly 30,000 charities in Aotearoa file an annual return. Charities Services simply doesn’t have the capacity to closely review every set of financial statements submitted.
Instead:
In its 2024 review, Charities Services reported that:
So if your accounts have been accepted in the past, that doesn’t mean they were compliant — just that they weren’t part of a review sample.
Honestly? For some groups, nothing bad may ever happen.
Smaller organisations that:
may get by year-to-year with non-compliant reporting and never be challenged.
We’re not here to scare anyone or pretend otherwise.
The issues usually show up at pressure points — when someone else relies on your financial information.
The most common scenarios we see are:
None of these are catastrophic — but they do create stress, delays, and rework.
Over the past few decades, financial reporting expectations for charities and societies have steadily increased.
All signs suggest this will continue.
Groups that don’t keep up often face a harder task later:
Staying broadly aligned as you go is almost always easier than catching up later.
Our view is simple:
XRB-compliant reporting should not be hard, expensive, or stressful — especially for small charities.
That’s why we built Good Numbers:
You may never need compliant accounts — until the day you really do.
Good Numbers is about making sure you’re ready, without the burden.
Ask Duncan anything — big or small. He’ll get back to you ASAP, and your questions will help improve the information here for everyone.
