Insights
Practical guidance for parish council clerks, drainage board officers, charity treasurers, executors and village hall committees — written by a chartered management accountant, for people who have to do this work alongside everything else.
Setting the precept: a clerk's walkthrough
The budget, the tax base, the Band D figure everyone asks about, and the January deadline you cannot miss.
Read › Parish councilsHow much should a council hold in reserves?
General versus earmarked, what the three-to-twelve-months guidance really means, and how to justify the level.
Read › Parish councilsAGAR variance explanations that don't come back as a query
Worked examples box by box, and the three wordings the external auditor queries every year.
Read › Parish councilsWhen the external auditor's query lands
The cause-amount-evidence structure that closes queries in one round, and the mistakes that guarantee a second one.
Read › Parish councilsThe fixed asset register: a template that survives the AGAR
The columns to include, the historic cost rule, and how to rebuild a register that no longer agrees to Box 9.
Read › Internal drainage boardsThe AGAR for internal drainage boards
Same return as a parish council — but drainage rates, special levies and pumping stations make several boxes behave differently.
Read › CharitiesA charity reserves policy trustees can actually use
How to work out free reserves, arrive at a number you can defend, and write the page — with a worked example.
Read › CharitiesRestricted funds, without the headache
What makes money restricted, how to keep it straight in a spreadsheet, and what to do when a fund overspends or is left over.
Read › CharitiesIndependent examination or audit — which does your charity need?
The income and asset thresholds for England and Wales, who can act as examiner, and the governing document trap.
Read › Executors · EstatesHow long does probate take? The honest timeline
The grant is weeks; the administration is months. Stage by stage, what genuinely causes delay, when probate isn't needed — and the estate accounts that protect an executor.
Read › Village halls · Community buildingsWhat does an hour in the hall actually cost?
Working out the true cost per hour, building a defensible rate card, and taking an increase to the committee.
Read › Parish councils · Cyber securityCyber Essentials for parish councils
Why the clerk's home laptop is in scope, councillors' devices, and the two answers that fail an assessment outright.
Read › Charities · Cyber securityCyber Essentials for charities
Trustees' and volunteers' own devices, the shared info@ mailbox, and the two automatic failures.
Read › Small business · Public contractsWhat is a PPON — and why can't you bid without one?
The supplier number the Procurement Act 2023 introduced, how to register in an afternoon, and how share codes work.
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