Presenting Financial Reports at the AGM
Every year you will be responsible for presenting the accounts at your annual general meeting. This is generally not as daunting as it may appear. All the facts and figures you need are right there in your account books.
Your committee will not want a blow by blow account of every transaction, nor will they want to hear the detail of every account balance. All they are really interested in is how much is in the bank, and therefore available to spend in the forthcoming year. Add a short statement on how much was received, how much was spent, and whether the accounts show any unusual trends, for example, subscriptions have doubled during the year.
What Your Committee Wants To Know
- Cash position today, bank balance and what is actually available to spend.
- Headline results for the year, total income and total expenditure.
- Big movements or trends, notable increases or decreases by category.
- Any risks or commitments, unpaid bills, restricted funds, or major renewals due.
A Simple AGM Finance Report Outline
- Opening position, cash at bank at the start of the year.
- Income summary, main sources such as subscriptions, events, grants, donations.
- Expenditure summary, key categories such as venue, equipment, insurance, projects.
- Closing position, cash at bank at year end and any savings.
- Available to spend, cash after deducting restricted funds and near term commitments.
- Notable trends, short explanations of changes and one off items.
- Questions, invite questions and note that full details are in the printed report.
Example Treasurer’s Verbal Update
Opening cash was £8,200. We received £12,600 during the year, mainly £7,400 from subscriptions and £3,500 from the summer fundraiser. We spent £10,900, with higher venue costs of £1,200 due to a new location.
Closing cash is £9,900. Of this, £2,000 is restricted for the youth project and £1,100 is committed for insurance due next month, leaving £6,800 available to spend. Subscriptions have doubled since last year, which reflects our membership drive and a small fee increase.
Cash In Bank Versus Available To Spend
Your committee cares about what you can use now, not just the headline bank balance. Show how you move from cash in bank to an available figure. Include restricted funds, grants with conditions, and any bills you expect within the next 30 to 60 days.
| Item | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cash at bank, 31 March | £9,900 | Current and savings accounts |
| Less, restricted funds | (£2,000) | Grant for youth project, must be spent on that project |
| Less, committed payments | (£1,100) | Insurance renewal due in April |
| Available to spend | £6,800 | Unrestricted and uncommitted |
Highlighting Unusual Trends
- Income surges, subscriptions have doubled during the year due to a membership drive.
- One off events, a gala raised £4,000, which will not recur every year.
- Cost changes, venue hire increased by 30 percent after a location change.
- Grant timing, last year included a grant that did not repeat, so income is lower.
Keep explanations brief and practical. Pair each change with a plain reason and a likely future impact.
What To Include In The Printed Report
The finer details, for example, the balances of every account and an income and payment statement, should be included in a printed report available to everyone for later digestion. Circulate it ahead of the meeting if possible.
- Income and expenditure statement for the year, with prior year comparatives.
- Balance sheet, bank accounts, petty cash, creditors, debtors, and reserves.
- Notes on significant items, restricted funds, designated funds, and accounting policies.
- Bank reconciliation at year end, showing any outstanding cheques or deposits.
- Budget versus actual summary, highlight major variances and comments.
Compliance for Registered Charities
If you are treasurer of a registered charity there will almost certainly be legislation that you will need to follow. Please check with your local Inland Revenue Service. Local charity regulators may also set formats, thresholds, and audit or independent examination requirements.
What To Check
- Whether you must prepare receipts and payments or accrual accounts, based on your size.
- Filing deadlines, annual return, accounts, and any independent examination or audit.
- Rules on restricted funds and donor conditions, including how they must be reported.
- Required statements, for example, trustee report or reserves policy where applicable.
Common Charity Reporting Components
| Component | Purpose | When Expected |
|---|---|---|
| Trustee or committee report | Explains activities, achievements, and public benefit | Often required for registered charities |
| Statement of receipts and payments | Shows cash movements during the year | Smaller charities, cash basis |
| Accrual income and expenditure | Matches income and costs to the period | Larger charities, accrual basis |
| Notes and accounting policies | Provides detail and explains treatment of funds | All formal sets of accounts |
| Independent examination or audit | External check for assurance | Over certain income or asset thresholds |
Hints and Tips
Use dedicated computer accounting software. It will save you a lot of time even if your organisation does not have many transactions. Learn the basics of double entry, if nothing else, it will make you more confident as a treasurer.
Keep your accounts as simple as possible. It results in less work and makes them easier to read. Always make regular backups of the accounts, keep them in a safe place, and ensure the committee knows where to find them in case anything should happen to you.
Choosing Accounting Software
- Essential features, bank feeds or easy import, simple reports, budgeting, and project or fund tracking.
- Access, consider cloud based options for shared access, or desktop if you prefer offline control.
- Audit trail, user logins, change history, and attachments for receipts.
- Export, make sure you can export to spreadsheet or PDF for sharing.
| Feature | Why It Helps | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Bank reconciliation | Keeps your records aligned with the bank | Reconcile monthly, more often near year end |
| Fund tracking | Separates restricted and unrestricted money | Use tags or classes to label each fund |
| Budget vs actual | Shows variances early so you can act | Review at each committee meeting |
| Document attachments | Stores invoices and receipts with entries | Photograph receipts at the time of purchase |
Double Entry, The Basics
Double entry means every transaction has two sides, a debit and a credit, which keep the records in balance. Think of assets as what you own, liabilities as what you owe, and reserves as the net difference.
- Subscription received, debit bank £50, credit subscription income £50.
- Paying an invoice, debit venue expense £120, credit bank £120.
- Grant received for a restricted project, debit bank £2,000, credit restricted fund £2,000.
Keep Accounts Simple
A lean chart of accounts makes reporting clear. Avoid creating many near duplicate categories.
- Income, subscriptions, donations, grants, fundraising, other.
- Expenses, venue, equipment, events, insurance, printing, travel, other.
- Balance, bank current, bank savings, petty cash, creditors, restricted funds, reserves.
Backups and Continuity
- Frequency, back up monthly at minimum, weekly during busy periods.
- Method, use two locations, secure cloud storage and an encrypted USB kept off site.
- Naming, include date in file names, for example, Accounts_2025-03-31_Backup.zip.
- Continuity, keep a brief handover note and store passwords using a secure method approved by the committee.
Simple Internal Controls
- Two people, dual approval for payments above an agreed amount.
- Receipts, keep evidence for every payment and deposit.
- Reconciliations, reconcile bank statements every month and have another committee member review.
- Cash handling, count cash with two people and sign a tally sheet.
Month End Routine
- Enter all transactions and attach receipts.
- Reconcile the bank and investigate differences.
- Update the budget versus actual and note key variances.
- File a short summary for the committee, one page is enough.
Before The AGM, A Quick Checklist
- Close the year in your software and reconcile to the year end statement.
- Prepare the printed report with comparatives and notes.
- Draft your verbal summary, keep it to three to five minutes.
- Share papers at least one week in advance, invite questions early.
Common Pitfalls And How To Avoid Them
- Confusing bank balance with available funds, always show deductions for restricted and committed amounts.
- Too much detail in the meeting, keep detail in the printed report and give a short verbal summary.
- No backup, set a recurring reminder and test restoring a backup annually.
- Late reconciliations, schedule a fixed time each month to stay current.