Voluntary and community organisations have to provide funders and regulators with accounts of their activities that explain how funds have been used and what has been achieved. This process makes an organisation accountable to its stakeholders for its activities. It also ensures it is working within the law and is meeting certain standards or conduct or care and should help to prevent fraud.

The format will depend on the structure of the organisation, type of activities and the requirements of the funder, but you should not underestimate the bureaucracy that may be involved.

Organisations need to be clear from the start about the information they need to collect, who to give it to, and when. Being accountable also helps everyone involved learn from their work and to be more effective in the future.

This overview shows why your voluntary and community organisation should think about the need to be accountable in a number of ways and provides links to resources that can help you put procedures in place.