How to review Irish charity financial evidence

A useful grant review starts with the right entity, the right reporting period and the original source.

1. Confirm the organisation

Check the legal name and available RCN, CRO or other identifiers. Similar names can refer to different entities. A directory listing alone does not prove current registration status; confirm relevant details with the original authority.

2. Identify the period and scope

Check the financial year end, currency and units. Distinguish a company from its consolidated group. Publication, approval and retrieval dates are different from the period covered by the accounts.

3. Compare like figures

Compare income and expenditure only after checking scope and period length. Net assets are not the same as available cash reserves. Do not turn an absent figure into zero or a missing document into an adverse conclusion.

4. Read funding records in context

Separate awards, commitments and payments. Check the recipient match and year before aggregating. Recorded funding history does not establish that a scheme is currently open.

5. Record gaps and ask questions

Keep the source URL, page reference and date of review. Write down missing periods, uncertain matches and scope differences. Ask the applicant for the current information your decision needs.

Use the checklist

Generate a draft evidence pack, inspect our source notes, or scope a grant-review pilot.

This is a research workflow, not accounting, legal or investment advice. OpenBenefacts does not decide whether an organisation should receive a grant.