Charitable incorporated organisation

rdf:langString Charitable incorporated organisation

rdf:langString A Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) is a corporate form of business designed for (and only available to) charitable organisations in England and Wales, similar to (but with important differences from) a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation. CIO status is conferred by the Charity Commission for England and Wales on application by the proposed members of the CIO. Usually the members are also the proposed trustees, but this is not a requirement. The main benefits of the form are that the charity has legal personality (the ability to enter contracts, sue and be sued, and to hold property in its own name – rather than in the name of its trustees), and its members have limited liability (their liability in the event the charity becomes insolvent is limited or nil). Historically these benefits were only available to limited companies, and many charities chose to incorporate as charitable companies limited by guarantee. However, this requires registration and filings with both Companies House and the Charity Commission for England and Wales, each of which has its own regulations and requirements. In contrast a CIO only needs to register and file accounts and returns with the Charity Commission. This aims to reduce bureaucracy for the charity. Uniquely among limited liability corporations in the UK, smaller CIOs in England and Wales can opt to file receipts and payments accounts, rather than the accruals accounts usually required. But one disadvantage of the form for larger charities is that, unlike for charitable companies, there is no public register of lenders' charges over the corporation's assets, and this can make it harder to arrange finance. Almost any existing charity, including charitable companies, can apply to "convert" to a CIO. Strictly speaking the CIO is a new entity, and there is no continuity of legal personality with the former charity. (Despite a natural reading of Chapter Four of the Charities Act 2011, this is true even where the precursor charity is a charitable company.) This can have profound effects on continuity of business, and can be a disincentive to conversion. There is currently no means of converting a CIO to any other legal form - although it could be wound up and its assets transferred.