The Charity Commission is the government department that regulates and maintains the Central Register of registered charities in England and Wales. The Charity Commission answers directly to the UK Parliament rather than to Government ministers.
Charities are custodians of trust and are therefore legally bound by Charity Commissions’ rules and regulations of operating, management, governance and reporting as detailed in the Charity Commission’s website and in charity’s trust deeds. Many charities are failing to pay attention to and adhere to these rules and are therefore being caught in the commission’s scrutiny and inquiry nets. While these are in some cases due to ignorance, negligent and oversight, the law requires certain standards to be met and adhere to as registered and operating charity organisation. In the public interest, the Charity Commission usually releases a public statement whenever it opens a statutory inquiry into a charity and publishes a report of the inquiry.
The common trend of what charities are being audited and investigated for are avoidable and in some cases require minor internal control and procedural adjustments. These includes but not limited to:
- The administration, governance and management of the charity by the trustees
- Timely preparation and submission of accounting and returns information
- Conflicts of interests and transactions with connected parties
- Adherence to safeguarding policies and procedures.
- Misconduct or mismanagement in the administration of the charity and/or breaches of trust or non-compliance with charity law
- Insufficient oversight and control of the charity, especially with regards to its assets by trustees
- Ensuring that the charity is operating in accordance with the provisions of its governing document and exclusively for charitable purposes
- Management and oversight of staff, use of the charity’s premises and safeguarding procedures by trustees
- Failure to submit annual report and accounts to the commission when the charity’s gross income is over £25,000.00 per annum.
- Fraudulent Gift Aid claims or administration.
In most cases, it is an issue of not knowing what to do, where to go or who to turn to especially before it becomes an open inquiry or just at the first instance that a charity receives the inquiry notification from the Charity Commission. But now, there is a solution; The Administrator International is a consultancy organisation with years of experience in dealing with and managing charity inquiry affairs on behalf of clients and representing them before Charity Commission.
The Administrator International specialises in setting up systems, structures and operations for charity and other not-for-profit organisations and can also carry out “health checks” on existing systems to identify gaps and recommend control or corrective measures. We also provide trainings for Trustees, Management and Staff, Leaders and Volunteers and other statutory obligatory requirements like safeguarding, fire, health and safety etc.
For more information on how we can assist your organisation in these and other areas, call The Administrator International for an initial conversation on 07853 060 707, email info@the-administrator.org or visit our website at www.the-administrator.org
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