The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) announced that it has improved the annual reporting process for charities.

Whilst most charities complete their Annual Information Statement on time, new ACNC research has highlighted opportunities to make reporting quicker and easier.

The research shows that the two main reasons for late submissions are because charities did not press the ‘submit’ button at the end of the online form, or simply forgot.

ACNC Commissioner, Susan Pascoe, stated the ACNC is committed to helping charities submit their 2016 Annual Information Statements on time.

“We appreciate that people running charities, especially volunteers, are working hard to achieve a charitable purpose,” Pascoe said.

“We’re doing everything we can to ensure that charities can meet their annual reporting obligations quickly and easily.

“We have reviewed our reminder system so that charities, who in previous years may have forgotten to submit, will get timely alerts reminding them of their reporting ahead of the deadline.”

Pascoe noted that the ACNC is continually highlighting knowledge-gaps and publishing guidance materials to help charities report.

“Last year we found that around 7,000 registered charities made reporting errors,” she said.

“These ranged from minor issues like incorrect totalling, all the way up to failing to provide the necessary annual financial reports.

“To help charities avoid making these mistakes in 2016, we have published a list of top 10 tips.”

Charities that report using the standard 1 July to 30 June financial year are required to submit their 2016 Annual Information Statement before 31 January 2017.

“There are numerous benefits to reporting ahead of the deadline,” Pascoe said.

“Charities that submit sooner rather than later will have access to a quicker online lodgement system, as the Charity Portal can be slowed by the overwhelming traffic it receives close to the due date.

“Similarly, our Advice Services team are not inundated with phone calls and emails this far out from the due date, so they are easily contactable.”