Welcome to 2024
it's hard to believe that we're already in 2024! Time flies, doesn't it? As we begin this new year, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on what has happened over the past year and share some updates with you. I hope that you and your loved ones are doing well and staying healthy.
Here at A3HQ, we always had the intention to send out a monthly blog/newsletter to highlight any updates as well as to round up some of the happenings in the legal and social enterprise world! So far, we have only issued 1 newsletter which certainly shows how challenging running a social enterprise can be!
As we reflect on the past year at Àrachas³, it has been a rollercoaster of a year, there were times when we nearly closed our doors and times when we met all of you and things seemed a little brighter. Thank you to everyone who booked in for a chat, we have loved chatting with you all.
Some of the highlights were:
225 consultations provided
11 workshops delivered
106 clients invoiced
we rewrote our website a few million times!
launch of our online store offering webinars and templates - more to come in 2024
I began studying a coaching and mentoring course to better support people
Looking Ahead:
Exciting things are happening over the next few months and we are feeling positive for the year ahead. In particular:
We have been asked to develop a business mentoring course for social enterprises to help them get ready for trading! We are so excited to get our teeth into this!
If successful, we will be rolling this out to a wider audience asnd considering taking this out on the road. The Àrachas³ tour is coming!
We will be part of the steering group for the Voluntary Code for Social Enterprises
We will be launching more webinars and developing more templates for you to access.
Legal updates to know about in 2024…
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill
This legislation marks a significant step in the fight against fraud and the promotion of transparency in corporate practices. The measures outlined in the bill, including identity verification for company directors and improved financial information on the register, will ensure that the Companies House is a more reliable and trustworthy source of information. Some of the changes include: -
Some changes will be introduced from March 2024. These include
greater powers for Companies House to query information and scrutinise and reject information that seems incorrect or inconsistent with information already on the register
stronger checks on company names
new rules for registered office addresses which will mean all companies must have an appropriate address at all times. Companies will not be able to use a PO Box as their registered office address.
a requirement for all companies to supply a registered email address
a requirement for all companies to confirm they’re forming the company for a lawful purpose when they incorporate. Every year, the company will need to confirm that its future activities will be lawful on their confirmation statement.
annotations on the register to let users know about potential issues with the information that’s been supplied to us
taking steps to clean up the register, using data matching to identify and remove inaccurate information
sharing data with other government departments and law enforcement agencies
Charities (Regulation and Administration) (Scotland) Bill
This Bill also received Royal Asset last year and will ensure that OSCR has greater powers for the regulation of charities in Scotland. These include
OSCR will now publish the names of trustees on their public register and maintain a database of trustee contact details, with some exceptions for personal safety.
OSCR will also publish more information on its website, including unredacted annual accounts for all charities, a list of barred trustees, and a record of merged charities to help with the transfer of legacies.
OSCR's inquiry powers will also be increased, allowing them to investigate former charity trustees and non-charitable organizations, and to direct charity trustees to take specific actions in certain circumstances.
Trustees and senior managers of charities who have committed certain offences will automatically be disqualified, including those convicted under bribery or proceeds of crime legislation, association with terrorist groups, or sexual offences.
OSCR will also have the power to remove charities from their register if they fail to submit their accounts or respond to a communication from the regulator.
OSCR will have the power to refuse charitable status to applicants with no or limited connection to Scotland, and charities on the register without a connection to Scotland could be removed, although genuine cross-border charities should not be affected.
If you would like further information on what this may mean for you, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
