Frequently asked questions about annual reports and accounts

The purpose for which you have used your proceeds should be described in as much detail as possible and you should ideally provide practical examples. Accounting reports and annual reports should always be drawn up as independent documents that clearly and tangibly explain how much of the funds raised have been used to promote each of the causes specified in the money collection permit.

No. Your report must be specific to your money collection operation. Standard annual reports and websites do not provide enough detail about the use of funds raised.

All accounts, annual reports and supporting documents must be in Finnish or Swedish. The National Police Board can order you to provide translations of any documents supplied in another language.

Yes. The obligation to submit a separate statement specifically on the money collection is directly based on the Money Collection Act and cannot be derogated from by a decision of the authority.

The opinion must state whether the money collection has been organized and the funds received have been used in accordance with the permit conditions.

An opinion is required if your organization has an auditor. If you use an operations inspector, you do not need to provide a separate statement specifically about the money collection. 

However, the annual report must always be accompanied by the financial statements and any associated notes. The financial statements should also include an auditor’s report.
 

There is no separate processing fee for checking the account. A processing fee is charged for processing the annual report in accordance with the Police Payment Ordinance. In 2024, processing the annual report will cost EUR 120.

The estimates presented in the annual plan are not binding, so there will be no penalties for exceeding or falling short of them. So, provide revenue and cost estimates with as much accuracy as you can. The annual plan can also be a completely free-form document.

You should specify at least the amount given to each beneficiary and why. You should ideally also explain how you have ensured that your partners, for example, have used the funds given to them in the manner intended.

Yes. The annual report or account must always be submitted, regardless of whether a money collection was organized or donations were received.

If no collection was arranged or no donations were received, instead of the normal notification or account, a so-called a zero declaration or a zero account stating that this is the case.

Always report any gratuitous monetary donations you have made by appealing to the public. Instead, other income, such as membership fees or sales revenue, should not be reported.

Donations can also be accepted and spent in virtual currency, but your annual reports must give euro amounts for your proceeds from money collection and spending of the funds raised. 
 

You need to provide as much detail about the use of your proceeds from money collection as possible. You should describe at least the purposes for which you have already used funds and explain how you intend to use the rest.

If your organisation’s permit is valid indefinitely, you can provide more detail about how the funds were used in your subsequent reports. All the funds raised must ultimately be accounted for.

If your organisation has a fixed-term permit issued under the old Finnish Money Collection Act, you will need to submit a separate notice once all the funds have been used. You can draw up the notice yourself or use the accounting template.

You can use the ‘further information’ section of the form or add more pages to explain how you have used the funds raised.

You can deduct any expenses directly attributable to your money collection operation from your money collection proceeds. The amount left over after expenses have been deducted constitutes your net proceeds, which must be used to promote the non-profit cause specified in your permit in their entirety.

You cannot use your proceeds from money collection to cover any other expenses but must rely on your organisation’s other income, such as proceeds from membership fees or product sales, to cover these costs. 

All money raised through money collection campaigns must be used to promote non-profit causes. If the project manager’s work is directly related to a non-profit cause specified in your permit, their pay can be covered by your proceeds from money collection. 

The rules have not changed; proceeds from money collection can only be used to cover expenses directly attributable to the money collection operation and towards the non-profit causes specified in the permit. 

Administrative costs can therefore be covered in so far as they are directly related to money collection. Directors’ meetings, for example, are not essential to money collection and do not constitute non-profit activity as such, and expenses incurred from such meetings cannot therefore be covered by money collection proceeds. 

Only expenses directly attributable to your money collection operation can be deducted from the proceeds of the operation. Auditing and bookkeeping expenses that satisfy this definition can include, for example, your accountant’s fee for drawing up an opinion on your accounts / annual report.

As a rule, you should not use your money collection proceeds to cover administrative expenses that relate to your general statutory duties but should use your organisation’s other income (such as proceeds from product sales and membership fees) instead. 

If you cannot cover your auditing and bookkeeping expenses by your organisation’s other income, small amounts of these costs can, in some circumstances, be deducted as money collection expenses, as long as the expenses are directly attributable to your money collection operation.
 

You do not have to use your proceeds from money collection to cover your expenses. You can also use other monies. Money collection expenses that have been paid for with your organisation’s other income should not be included in your money collection accounts or annual report.

The section titled ‘other expenses’ is designed for reporting costs that do not fall under any other heading. In other words, you can use this section to report money collection expenses that do not appear to belong to any other category. Remember to itemise any expenses reported in this section as well, so that the permit authority can verify that the expenses were related to your money collection operation. 

Only expenses that are directly attributable to your money collection operation can be paid for with your proceeds from money collection. If your newsletter has, for example, 12 pages and one of them is reserved for appeals for donations, you can cover one twelfth of the printing and postage costs of your newsletter by your proceeds from money collection.

An action plan covering all of your organisation’s operations may not be enough, as your annual plan needs to be specific to the money collection campaigns that you intend to run during the next financial year.  However, as long as your action plan includes all the information required for annual plans, there is no reason why the National Police Board could not accept it.

Your annual plan does not need to be any more complicated than, for example, a list of the money collection campaigns that you intend to run during the year. Your annual plan should set out at least the causes for which funds are to be raised, your expected proceeds from money collection and your estimated money collection expenses as well as, where possible, the number of campaigns you intend to run.
 

Annual reports and supporting documents can be submitted by post or email or via the Police’s online services. 

Accounts for permits issued under the old Money Collection Act and supporting documents must be sent by post or by email.