An animal rescue charity in south Wales has been wound up as part of an investigation that concluded its trustees lacked “the necessary levels of knowledge and competence to continue running the charity”.
Four Paws Animal Rescue was investigated by the Charity Commission after failing to submit its financial documents for multiple years.
During its statutory inquiry, the regulator appointed Paul Barber of consultancy Begbies Traynor as an interim manager to run the charity to the exclusion of the trustees.
The interim manager concluded that the charity should close as they did not consider it “feasible or viable to address the significant underlying issues” at the organisation.
Barber oversaw the rehoming of the animals under the care of the charity and, after the settling of all the charity’s costs and liabilities, residual funds amounting to £18,300 were distributed to two charities with similar purposes.
‘Comprehensive failures’
The commission found that, since August 2019, the charity had only two trustees who were married to each other, following the resignation of another trustee, despite its governing document stating that it should have at least three.
Despite the two remaining trustees advising the commission that they had posted the need for additional trustees on Facebook, the regulator found they had “failed to take any further substantive steps to remedy the issue” and therefore breached the charity’s governing document.
The commission found that the charity’s former treasurer, who resigned, had pre-signed cheques, which its trustees had used as a method for paying large invoices.
It advised the trustees against this practice but found evidence that pre-signed cheques had been debited from the charity’s account after the trustees had been told not to use them on at least two occasions, constituting misconduct or mismanagement.
The charity has not submitted its financial information for the 2019 to 2021 calendar years, and trustees informed the commission that they lacked the administrative skills to prepare accounts.
This repeated failure to submit the charity’s accounting was a breach of its governing document and misconduct or mismanagement in the administration of the charity.
In conclusion, the commission stated: “The trustees were responsible for comprehensive failures in the charity’s governance and administration, including failures to prepare and submit financial information over a significant and prolonged period, failures to act in accordance with the charity’s governing document and failures to comply with an order and advice of the commission.
“Whilst the charity did carry out its charitable purposes, providing help and care to animals in need, it is the commission’s view that the trustees collectively failed to understand their legal duties as trustees and appreciate the importance of always acting in accordance with them.”
According to the commission’s website, the charity recorded an income of £114,000 and costs of £122,000 in 2018, the last year for which it filed accounts.
Civil Society has contacted the charity for comment.
