Showing posts with label Charity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Charity. Show all posts

Thursday 8 November 2018

Conflict of interests... might be topical... again




Taking care, with “Conflicts of Interest”


Trustees have a duty to act in the best interests of the charity and its beneficiaries. They must avoid situations where their personal interests or their duties conflict with their duty to the charity unless they have been authorised. The duty also extends to conflicts that arise because of persons connected with them. 

Conflicts of interest can occur in many ways.
A conflict of interest can occur when a trustee stands to benefit personally from the charity - for example, if they or a connected person receive a grant from the charity as a service user or a payment for a professional service. 
Conflicts of interest may come in a number of different forms:
  • direct financial gain or benefit to the trustee, such as:
  • payment to a trustee for services provided to the charity
  • the award of a contract to another organisation in which a trustee has an interest and from which a trustee will receive a financial benefit
  • the employment of a trustee in a separate post within the charity, even when the trustee has resigned in order to take up the employment
  • indirect financial gain, such as employment by the charity of a spouse or partner of a trustee, where their finances are interdependent
  • non-financial gain, such as when a user of the charity’s services is also a trustee
  • conflict of loyalties, such as where a trustee is appointed by the local authority or by one of the charity’s funders, or where a friend of a trustee is employed by the charity
Trustees cannot receive a benefit from the charity unless it is allowed under the law or by the charity’s governing document: such authorisation might involve approval from the Charity Commission.
A conflict of interest can also occur when a trustee has a conflict of loyalties between the charity and their personal or other interests – for example, if they are a member of a local authority that funds the charity or a trustee of a competing charity.
Any conflict of interest should be carefully managed. It is good practice for trustees to agree a conflict of interest policy record and regularly record conflicts in a register, and note them in board minutes.



Having a Policy makes it clear the parameters of authority and encourages transparency.

A conflict of interest policy sets out the procedure to be followed if a trustee declares an interest. It should include a register of interests where trustees disclose outside interests and those of connected persons that might potentially conflict with their role as a trustee.
If a trustee has a conflict of interest which creates a real danger of bias (or could be perceived to do so) they should withdraw from the relevant part of the meeting where the relevant decision is to take place.
The Companies Act 2006 brought in new statutory duties for trustees of charitable companies. These include duties to avoid conflicts of interest, not accept benefits from third parties and declare an interest in a proposed transaction. These duties include a duty to avoid conflicts of loyalty.
Trustees of charitable companies must ensure they are properly disclosing and authorising conflicts of interest in line with their statutory duties.

  • Register of conflicts of interest
  • Policy regarding how to deal with themi


i The policy might include that the person with the conflict would not be able to discuss the item or not be able to vote on a decision relating to the conflict. Of course they could provide information to allow the remaining trustees to make an informed decision.


Sunday 29 July 2018

Sunday again... reflecting

When this goes "up" I will be most probably be in the Church I go to.

Sunday afternoon reflection



Consider a charity and in our case a Church. 


Looking at the dual aspects of leadership and Charity responsibilities for leadership lets consider the following:

We take without any thought that leadership would act honourably, for God, in care for the members and adherents, without considering their own personal taste or preferences.

How would Leadership stack up against the following based on the previous paragraph?

Hallmark 1: Clear about its purposes and direction


An effective charity is clear about its purposes, mission and values and uses them to direct all aspects of its work.

Hallmark 2: A strong board


An effective charity is run by a clearly identifiable board or trustee body that has the right balance of skills and experience, acts in the best interests of the charity and its beneficiaries, understands its responsibilities and has systems in place to exercise them properly.

Hallmark 3: Fit for purpose


The structure, policies and procedures of an effective charity enable it to achieve its purposes and mission and deliver its services efficiently.

Hallmark 4: Learning and improving


An effective charity is always seeking to improve its performance and efficiency, and to learn new and better ways of delivering its purposes. A charity’s assessment of its performance, and of the impact and outcomes of its work, will feed into its planning processes and will influence its future direction.

Hallmark 5: Financially sound and prudent


An effective charity has the financial and other resources needed to deliver its purposes and mission, and controls and uses them so as to achieve its potential.

Hallmark 6: Accountable and transparent


An effective charity is accountable to the public and others with an interest in the charity (stakeholders) in a way that is transparent and understandable.



Tuesday 15 May 2018

The Money Charity latest figures May 2018

The latest figures from The Money Charity...


Striking numbers 
  • 114.4%: The average debt to income ratio per adult in the UK.
  • £123,870: The outstanding mortgage debt per mortgaged household.
  • 90: The amount of LINK cash machine transactions per second in April 2018.
  • 0%: The stagnation in First Time Buyer house prices in February.
  • £49mThe fall in Public Sector Net Debt per day in 2018.
  • 0.1%: The estimated growth in GDP in Q1 2018 - the lowest growth since Q4 2012.
  • 9.614mThe amount of workers auto enrolled in workplace pension schemes in April.
  • 3.1%The fall in house prices across the UK on last month according to Halifax.
  • £58,240: The average total debt per household (including mortgages).

Thursday 16 March 2017

SCIO vehicle for Scottish Charities

Scottish Charities can set up as a  SCIO s which are limited incorporated bodies just right for Churches or missions. These organisations are regulated by OSCR based in Dundee. Its worth noting that you cannot transfer to another entity once youare an SCIO.

There is a lot of information about setting up charities on the OSCR website.

Four main vehicles are

Entity
Limited company( need to register it separately)
SCIO once stop registration

No legal entity
Association
Trust
There is also Industrial and Provident Society which may quailfy for tax relief by way of Gift aid.