Membership organisations

When managing the accounts and finances of a membership or trade organisation, it’s important that your reporting is an effective communication tool with your members, prospective members and funders to demonstrate your relevance, transparency, sustainability, and your members voice.

Our team of industry experts is perfectly positioned to support you on matters ranging from tax and VAT planning to governance and committee structures, branches and regions, and risk management.

We’re more than your traditional accountants

We also offer support regarding:

• mutual trading tax exemption
• internal audit
• payroll bureau, bookkeeping, and management accounts
• statutory audits
• benchmarking on key performance indicators
• financial planning and investment management
• strategic planning and income diversification
• VAT and tax advice, especially in relation to membership income and split supplies, online and paper publications, and zero rating
• maximising VAT partial exemption recovery
• risk registers and risk management
• employment law and pensions
• defined benefit pension scheme issues

You can be assured that the advice we give you is always appropriate and effective, and we will ensure you have access to highly relevant knowledge and resources – wherever your challenges and objectives lie.

For the last 4 years, Price Bailey have partnered with the MemberWise Network to produce a financial review of the largest 100 membership bodies in the UK (The Influence 100 List). The report is an invaluable tool for membership organisations to benchmark and analyse their finance/operations against the sector.  You can access the latest Influence 100 Financial Benchmarking Report.

Our experts understand the challenges facing your industry

Membership organisations are an important sector in our economy, one which truly listens to the needs of its members in order to adapt and evolve their offerings. However, like other sectors, it is not without its’ challenges – many of which have been exacerbated by the pandemic.

The membership fees of numerous membership and trade organisations have been affected by the pandemic, with some membership types proving to be more resilient and achieving significant member growth. Professional bodies and trade unions are amongst the most robust to price sensitivity. However, moving forward, the ability to demonstrate member value is crucial for membership organisations.

Additionally, the importance of all organisations to maintain resilience has never been greater. Income diversification improves an organisation’s ability to remain strong and build a sustainable strategy. Organisations that are less diversified run a higher risk of income loss as their success is dependent on their membership offering. Their ability to be the voice of the sector can be curtailed as this often needs underpinning by other income streams. The pandemic highlighted the need for member value and relevance to be paramount, especially where membership is not career orientated.

We want to help forward-thinking membership organisations to take advantage of the opportunities your industry presents, and also navigate any challenges successfully.

For more information on our specific charities and not for profit expertise, please visit our charities and not for profit sector page.