Governance – what could possibly go wrong?

The Charity Commission recently reviewed their ‘problem cases’, and came up with a list of the nine things that trustees most commonly don’t do, that could have prevented most of those cases happening at all, or could have stopped them becoming so serious.

This might be a useful basis for a quick review of your charity’s Board – and indeed of your own behaviours if you are a trustee. Are there any areas in which improvements might be made? Here’s the list:

• Not knowing the governing document
• Not understanding the finances
• Not ensuring controls and procedures work
• Not asking difficult questions
• Not challenging conflicts of interest
• Not challenging dominance
• Not following decision-making principles
• Not filing accounts and annual report
• Not meeting accounts/annual reporting standards.

Sometimes it can be helpful to have objective, external support to address some of these issues. Do get in touch if you would like to explore how Action Planning can help.