I have been approached to prepare the accounts of a local political party association. The idea interests me. I wonder if anyone has any experiences of this and any handy tips to help me decide whether or not to pursue it.
Thanks in advance.
Replies (8)
Please login or register to join the discussion.
The Electoral Commission ...
will have some information.
See here to start with ...
http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/guidance
http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/party-finance/PEF-online-registers/statement-of-accounts
Lots of phaffing about involved
Because of all the electoral rules about expenditure, it may be a more detailed job than you would like.
Could only take an hour!
Depending upon the party and the geographical location you may find the income and expenditure so small it will be a very quick job. Most local parties have very limited income and expenditure. The Electoral Commission provides good guidance on the accounts necessary but they are pretty straightforward and as far as I am aware you are just required to prepare accounts not act as some sort of guardian of their compliance with the detailed regulations. Anyway, most local parties will have very standard and uncontenious costs.
Head office
The head offices ( main parties) have to be audited above the threshold. I know I did one for a few years. So if its the main office watch out,
Fairly straight forward
I managed the bookkeeping and payroll for a local party association and found it was straight forward enough. It was a basic bookkeeping role. The association officers had to ensure PPPER compliance, and I had just to prepare accounts in the prescribed format.