The new SORP marks an important moment for the charity sector. At Sayer Vincent, we welcome the publication and the opportunity it provides to simplify reporting, improve transparency, and strengthen confidence in financial information. As longstanding supporters of clear, proportionate reporting, we’ve been actively involved throughout the development of the new framework and are here to help charities navigate what these updates mean in practice.

Find the new published SORP here: https://www.charitysorp.org/

There have been no fundamental changes to the version released as an Exposure Draft in March. However, in response to the consultation, there have been edits to provide additional clarity, examples and guidance.

The three tiers and the thresholds for tiers have not changed from the Exposure Draft. This means that the tiers are as follows:

• Tier 1 – gross income up to £500,000
• Tier 2 – gross income above £500,000 and up to £15m
• Tier 3 – gross income above £15m

While the consultation feedback was not united in support for these thresholds, there wasn’t a clear alternative provided. Therefore, the tier thresholds will be kept as proposed, but the SORP making body have indicated that they will keep this under review.

There was feedback in the consultation to include a “2 year rule” to avoid a charity moving up a tier for a one-off increase in income. This suggestion has not been incorporated, as it was considered that it would increase complexity and the priority was to establish a simple framework.

The SORP now provides more examples and guidance for the big changes arising from FRS102, income recognition and lease accounting. There are more examples of exchange and non-exchange transactions in section 5. For leases, there is now a flowchart to help a preparer identify the lease they have and how to account for it. The SORP is supplemented by two new help sheets to provide additional guidance for charities on applying this new accounting treatment.

Another important change is in relation to social investments. The Exposure Draft SORP proposed that any change in fair value of a social investment should be treated as a gain or loss on investment. The consultation feedback felt this was not always the right presentation and requested the option to include a loss as charitable expenditure or gains to other income. This request has been incorporated into the new SORP.

The new SORP will be effective for financial periods beginning on or after 1 January 2026. We have webinars available to help you understand and implement the changes and will continue to deliver new webinars and publications to help you meet the new requirements.

We will also be publishing an updated version of “SORP Made Simple” next month ready for the Charity Accountants’ Conference on 12-13 November 2025.