Trustee’s Legal Duties: Sharing Records with your Independent Examiner

If your charity has an independent examination instead of a full audit, you may be wondering what information you need to give to your examiner. Sometimes trustees feel nervous about sharing documents like meeting minutes, legal agreements, or letters from the Charity Commission - especially if they include sensitive issues.

Here’s the key point: trustees must provide these records to their Independent Examiner.

What the law says

Regulation 33 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 sets out the examiner’s rights:

• Regulation 33(1): "Any person carrying out an audit or examination...has a right of access to any books, documents and other records (however kept) which relate to the charity concerned..."

• Regulation 33(2): "Such a person is entitled to require...such information and explanations from past or present charity trustees...as he considers it necessary to obtain for the purposes of carrying out the audit or examination."

This is not optional - it’s part of your legal duty as trustees.

Why the examiner needs them

Your examiner’s job is to check whether your accounts are prepared properly and fairly. To do that, they need to see:

• Minutes of trustee meetings (to confirm decisions and approval of accounts)

• Your governing document, contracts, and leases (to check commitments)

• Letters from regulators (to see if anything affects reporting)

Direction 3 from CC32, the Commission’s guidance on Independent Examinations confirms “examiners must record when trustees fail to provide information”; and

Direction 13 explains that “examiners must report in their formal report if they haven't been provided with necessary information”

The Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 requirement also confirms that examiners must state in their report "any information or explanation to which he is entitled under regulation 33 has not been afforded to him". Put simply, examiners must do more than just ask for records – they have a legal duty to formally report any failure by trustees to provide access.

What documents do examiners typically need?

Some documents are essential for the examination. For example:

Governance records:

• Your governing document (constitution, trust deed, or articles)

• Minutes of all trustee meetings during the financial year and up to the date of signing the report

• Register of trustees and any declarations of interest

Financial records:

• Bank statements and reconciliations

• Cashbooks, petty cash records, and receipts

• Invoices, contracts, and major agreements

• Payroll records and pension information

• Grant agreements and restricted fund documentation

Regulatory correspondence:

• Letters from the Charity Commission, HMRC, or other regulators

• Any compliance notices or regulatory guidance received

• Insurance policies and claims

Annual accounts preparation:

• Trial balances and management accounts

• Previous year's accounts and examiner's report

• Budget forecasts and cashflow projections

Your examiner may not need to see every document in detail, but they must have the right to access them all. There may be other documents they request, depending on your specific charity.

What about confidential information?

It’s natural to worry about sensitive details in your records. But don’t worry:

1. Examiners are bound by confidentiality - they won’t publish private matters.
2. If needed, you can redact (blank out) names of beneficiaries receiving individual support or pastoral notes. You cannot withhold information in the following areas:

• financial decisions and the business rationale

• details of contracts, partnerships or significant transactions

• trustee expenses, conflicts of interest, remuneration

• regulatory correspondence

• restricted funds details and how they have been used

• information about staff pay and employment matters.

A key question to ask yourself: Does this information help the examiner understand how the charity has managed its finances and fulfilled its charitable purposes? If the answer is ‘yes’, then it should be shared.

What matters is that the examiner can see the decisions and commitments of the charity over the year in review and up to the date of signing the report. Work with your examiner and explain any sensitivity, and agree how information can be anonymised without withholding key details.

If records aren’t shared

If trustees refuse to share information:

• The examiner cannot complete the report

• They may have to qualify the report (stating they were not given full access), or withdraw from the engagement entirely

• In serious cases, they may need to inform the Charity Commission

This could create unnecessary problems for the charity.

In summary

Trustees are legally required to share records with their examiner. They are not about prying into confidential matters, but helping you as trustees to uphold good governance, with transparent and compliant accounts. 

Working openly with your examiner protects the charity, protects you as trustees, and gives confidence to supporters and regulators alike.