All area meetings should require annual reports and accounts to be presented by their trustees and treasurer. These accounts will disclose all the assets, liabilities and financial activities of the meeting in the previous year. Trusts administered by the meeting or associated with the meeting should be included and identified separately. Whether an area meeting is a registered charity or not, the annual reports and accounts should meet the highest standards and comply with Charity Commission requirements. The treasurer and trustees should keep themselves informed about changes to these requirements and should obtain professional advice about this when necessary. Meetings should not consider it profligate to employ a professional accountant to prepare their accounts.

Openness in business is a Quaker tradition arising from our testimony to truth, and it follows that area meeting reports and accounts should be made available to any interested person, whether or not they are a member of that meeting, and whether or not they are Friends. In any case, charities are legally obliged to provide this information to any member of the public on request.