IWhere we come in
Industries / 05 — Development Sector & NGOs
A technically correct audit file in the wrong format is a failed audit, if the funder is the one reading it.
Donor-compliant project audits, grant assurance, statutory audit and taxation for trusts, foundations, endowment funds and donor-funded programmes.
Donor reporting is not statutory audit with different letterhead. Documentation, sampling and reporting format follow the funder's own specification, and continued funding depends on that specification being met — not just on the underlying numbers being correct. We work with welfare trusts, foundations, endowment funds and donor-funded programmes on exactly that distinction.
A donor requires a project audit to their own specification.
Documentation, sampling and reporting format built to the funder's standard, not adapted from a statutory audit template.
We manage an endowment fund and need assurance trustees and beneficiaries can rely on.
Statutory and grant assurance scoped around what a fund's governance structure actually requires.
Our grant reporting deadline is approaching and the file isn't ready.
Audit and reporting timed to the funder's deadline, not the entity's own year-end convenience.
We run a welfare trust or foundation and need our first proper statutory audit.
An audit built around how trusts and foundations are actually structured and governed.
Our programme is funded by more than one donor with different requirements.
Reporting reconciled once, in a form that can be adapted to each funder's specific format rather than rebuilt from scratch for each.
We are an incubation or startup support body and need compliance support that fits how we actually operate.
Statutory and tax compliance for an organisation that doesn't fit a standard commercial-entity template.
IIWhat we do
What we handle in the development sector
All eleven service lines are available to any client. These are the ones genuinely relevant to a trust, foundation or donor-funded programme.
01
Audit & Assurance
Statutory audit and project audits built to a donor's specification, not a repurposed commercial template.
- Statutory audit
- Donor-specification project audits
- Grant assurance
02
Tax & Regulatory
Tax treatment specific to trusts, foundations and not-for-profit structures.
- Income tax compliance
- Not-for-profit and Section 42 considerations
- Notices and assessments
03
Accounting & Outsourcing
Bookkeeping and reporting structured around grant and programme accounting, not standard commercial ledgers.
- Bookkeeping and fund accounting
- Management reporting to donors and boards
- Budget monitoring against grant terms
04
Corporate & Secretarial
Registration and statutory compliance for trusts, foundations and not-for-profit companies.
- Not-for-profit and Section 42 company registration
- Statutory filings and registers
- Governance documentation
05
Risk & Forensic
Internal control review where donor terms require a documented control environment.
- Internal control review
- Grant compliance testing
- Fraud risk assessment
06
Advisory & Consulting
Governance advisory for boards and trustees carrying fiduciary responsibility for donor funds.
- Governance framework review
- Board effectiveness advisory
- Policy and procedure development
07
Internal Audit & ICFR
Control testing where a donor or funding body requires assurance beyond the annual audit.
- Internal audit
- Risk and control matrices
- Donor-mandated control review
08
ESG & Sustainability
Reporting support where a programme's own mandate or funding terms touch environmental or social outcomes.
- ESG readiness assessment
- Sustainability reporting
- Framework alignment for funder requirements
Each of these has its own page setting out the full scope, approach and pricing — this is the set most relevant to development sector work specifically.
IIIRepresentative work
What the work looks like
Anonymised, because most of what we do cannot be written up any other way. Named-client work sits behind our clients' own consent, not published here.
A donor-funded programme requiring World Bank standards
- The position
- Project audits to donor specification, which differ from statutory audit in documentation, sampling and reporting format, and are unforgiving about evidence.
- What we did
- Project audits to the donor's standard, with documentation prepared to survive review by the funding body rather than only by the entity.
- Why it mattered
- Continued funding depends on the audit being accepted. A technically correct file in the wrong format is a failed audit.
More broadly, our representative work in this sector includes welfare trusts and foundations, a national education endowment fund, child rights and social welfare programmes, and incubation and startup support bodies. The fuller list of sectors and engagement snapshots — including this one — is on our Clients & Experience page.
IVCommon questions
Questions we are asked
What's the difference between a statutory audit and a donor project audit?
A statutory audit follows local reporting standards. A donor project audit follows the funder's own specification for documentation, sampling and reporting format — the underlying figures may be identical, but the file that satisfies one won't automatically satisfy the other.
Can you work to more than one donor's audit requirements on the same programme?
Yes. Where a programme has multiple funders, we build the underlying file once and adapt the reporting to each funder's specific format.
Do you audit trusts and foundations, or only registered NGOs?
Both. Welfare trusts, foundations, endowment funds and not-for-profit companies are all part of the practice, alongside donor-funded programmes run through other structures.
Our reporting deadline is tight — can you work to it?
We scope to the funder's actual deadline rather than our own convenience. Tell us the date and we will tell you what's realistic within it.
How is development sector work priced?
Statutory and project audits are typically scoped per engagement or per grant cycle. Ongoing accounting and compliance support is priced as a retainer, matched to the programme's reporting calendar.
Related
The service lines behind this page
Let's work together
Does this sector look familiar?
If we have worked on something like it, the first conversation starts further along. A partner will tell you what's realistic before anything is scoped.