http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/home Latest Articles http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/model_documents/terms_of_reference/content/8321/finance_from_a_governance_perspective http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/model_documents/terms_of_reference/content/8321/finance_from_a_governance_perspective Sun, 27 Feb 2011 15:05:00 GMT Dorothy Dalton outlines the minimum financial knowledge that all trustees should have in order to properly discharge their duties. http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/board_mechanics/issues_for_the_chair/content/8023/founders_blessing_or_a_curse http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/board_mechanics/issues_for_the_chair/content/8023/founders_blessing_or_a_curse Fri, 7 Jan 2011 15:22:00 GMT Moving on a founder can be one of the hardest tasks facing a board of trustees. Dorothy Dalton discusses how to most tactfully approach the situation. http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/blogs/content/7734/equality_should_mean_one_rule_for_all http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/blogs/content/7734/equality_should_mean_one_rule_for_all Wed, 10 Nov 2010 16:53:00 GMT Dorothy Dalton highlights an unintended consequence of the recent Equality Act. http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/blogs/content/6906/cometh_the_hour http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/blogs/content/6906/cometh_the_hour Thu, 1 Jul 2010 14:04:00 GMT Dorothy Dalton asks if the time has come for the Charity Commission to change the way it works and for the sector to accept the changes? http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/blogs/content/6159/the_charity_commission_website_needs_fine-tuning http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/blogs/content/6159/the_charity_commission_website_needs_fine-tuning Tue, 2 Mar 2010 14:39:00 GMT The Charity Commission's implicit approval of charity accounts by virtue of posting them on its website without checking them first, is a threat to public trust in charities, says Dorothy Dalton http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/board_mechanics/performance/content/6070/how_to_conduct_good_governance_reviews http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/board_mechanics/performance/content/6070/how_to_conduct_good_governance_reviews Thu, 18 Feb 2010 14:50:00 GMT Regular governance reviews need not be costly, work-intensive or complicated. Dorothy Dalton advises. http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/news/content/5846/dalton_comes_out_against_paid_trustees_and_unitary_boards http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/news/content/5846/dalton_comes_out_against_paid_trustees_and_unitary_boards Tue, 12 Jan 2010 12:14:00 GMT Governance expert Dorothy Dalton has stormed into the debate over whether trustees should sit on unitary boards alongside the executive and be paid for their work. http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/blogs/content/5835/paid_trustees_and_unitary_charity_boards_should_be_allowed_but_not_advocated http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/blogs/content/5835/paid_trustees_and_unitary_charity_boards_should_be_allowed_but_not_advocated Mon, 11 Jan 2010 12:08:00 GMT Is the time right for paid trustees and unitary boards? Dorothy Dalton reports. http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/compliance/legal/content/5778/minutes_of_meetings http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/compliance/legal/content/5778/minutes_of_meetings Fri, 1 Jan 2010 15:48:00 GMT Minutes are a legal record and can be used by regulators or by the courts if there are questions of legal liability. It is vitally important that they are accurate and provide an audit trail for all major decisions. Minutes need to show that trustees acted reasonably and prudently. http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/board_mechanics/behaviour/content/4647/acting_prudently http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/board_mechanics/behaviour/content/4647/acting_prudently Sun, 1 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT Trustees can be personally liable if they act imprudently. How do trustees ensure they are prudent without becoming paranoid and risk-averse? http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/board_mechanics/performance/content/4644/an_idiots_guide_to_disempowering_your_board_of_trustees http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/board_mechanics/performance/content/4644/an_idiots_guide_to_disempowering_your_board_of_trustees Sun, 1 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT Ultimate responsibility for the charity lies collectively with the full board of trustees as does ultimate authority over the charity. Trustees should ensure that no individual or groups of individuals ever undermine the board's ultimate authority or stewardship role. http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/news/content/4291/clarifying_trustee_payments_and_expenses http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/news/content/4291/clarifying_trustee_payments_and_expenses Fri, 1 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT The Charities Act 2006 brought in changes which allow charity trustees to be paid for providing their charities with goods and services, and guidance published in June 2008 by the Charity Commission clarifies how boards should handle both these types of payments and general trustee expenses. http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/news/content/4290/clarity_for_charity_complaints http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/news/content/4290/clarity_for_charity_complaints Fri, 1 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT The Charity Commission receives around 2,000 complaints about charities a year; these are wide-ranging but their remit means they can only look into specific types of issues. To explain the process more clearly, the Charity Commission recently published revised guidance. http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/news/content/4274/new_conflicts_of_interest_guidelines_for_arts_charities http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/news/content/4274/new_conflicts_of_interest_guidelines_for_arts_charities Tue, 8 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT The Charity Commission, the independent regulator for charities in England and Wales, and the Department for Culture Media and Sport have jointly prepared new conflicts of interest guidance for arts charities. http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/board_mechanics/recruitment/content/4531/reasons_for_leaving http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/board_mechanics/recruitment/content/4531/reasons_for_leaving Tue, 1 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT Dorothy Dalton explores the reasons commonly given by trustees for leaving a charity prior to completing their term of office. http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/board_mechanics/recruitment/content/4519/acevo_survey_of_ce_salaries_2007 http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/board_mechanics/recruitment/content/4519/acevo_survey_of_ce_salaries_2007 Wed, 5 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT According to the 2007 acevo survey of CE salaries, third sector organisations employing over 1000 staff now pay chief executives a median salary of £103 000, breaking the £100k barrier for the first time. http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/board_mechanics/issues_for_the_chair/content/4665/dealing_with_a_problem_chair http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/board_mechanics/issues_for_the_chair/content/4665/dealing_with_a_problem_chair Mon, 12 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT What should a chief executive and trustees do if the chair of trustees refuses to take on a leadership role? http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/board_mechanics/performance/content/4624/the_three_key_strands_of_governance http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/board_mechanics/performance/content/4624/the_three_key_strands_of_governance Thu, 1 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT Governance today has grown greatly in sophistication. Gone are the days when charity boards concentrated solely on regulatory compliance and financial issues. Today in well-governed charities, trustees and chief executives are aware that there are three key strands of governance. http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/opinion/content/4462/chair_sits_on_chief_executive http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/opinion/content/4462/chair_sits_on_chief_executive Thu, 1 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT A chief executive of a charity feels frustrated and marginalised by the interfering actions of the chair. http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/board_mechanics/issues_for_the_chair/content/4652/does_your_chief_executive_give_you_bad_news_as_well_as_good http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/board_mechanics/issues_for_the_chair/content/4652/does_your_chief_executive_give_you_bad_news_as_well_as_good Thu, 1 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT Does your chief executive give you bad news as well as good? Broadly speaking chief executives (CEs) fall into three main personality types when it comes to giving feedback.