{"id":16237,"date":"2017-07-28T17:14:52","date_gmt":"2017-07-28T16:14:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ihbconline.co.uk\/newsachive\/?p=16237"},"modified":"2017-07-28T17:14:52","modified_gmt":"2017-07-28T16:14:52","slug":"charity-commission-blog-the-new-charity-governance-code-essential-reading-for-trustees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=16237","title":{"rendered":"Charity Commission Blog: The new Charity Governance Code \u2013 Essential reading for trustees"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"charity<\/a>Sarah Atkinson, Director of Policy and Communications, offers a blog update on the \u201812th year and\u2026 3rd edition\u2019 of the Governance Code for the charity sector in England and Wales.<\/h3>\n
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.<\/em><\/h5>\n

<\/p>\n

Sarah Atkinson writes:<\/p>\n

I am delighted that the charity sector\u2019s\u00a0governance code<\/a>\u00a0is now in its 12th year and its 3rd edition. The Commission has supported and endorsed the code since its inception. The latest edition has raised the bar in response to the challenges that the sector has faced over the last two years. And awareness of the code is also growing. It\u2019s good news that the consultation on the updated code received over 200 responses including from key players in the sector.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s vital that charities get their heads around governance. Following good governance practices, not just paying lip service but really understanding and applying them, could have averted many of the bad headlines of the last two years. It\u2019s more than ticking the boxes. It\u2019s about attitudes and culture, whether a charity puts its values into practice. It\u2019s about how trustees make decisions and how well they understand what\u2019s going on. We have seen the consequences of failing to do that.<\/p>\n

But more than avoiding bad, it\u2019s about realising potential, understanding and maximising the difference you make. Everything in good governance should point to your mission and your strategy for achieving it.<\/p>\n

In other sectors \u2013 the corporate sector, housing, sport, there are potential financial consequences for not complying with the relevant governance code. The Charity Governance Code doesn\u2019t work like that. It\u2019s not enforced by the regulator. The rule is not \u2018comply or explain\u2019 but \u2018apply or explain\u2019, recognising the diversity of the sector. The same core principles apply to all charities, but they apply in different ways in terms of tailored good practice.<\/p>\n

The code starts with a \u2018foundation principle\u2019; it should be a \u2018given\u2019 that all trustees understand their legal duties (as explained in The Essential Trustee) and are committed to their cause and good governance. We don\u2019t take trustees\u2019 commitment for granted, but it should be reasonable to expect commitment to translate into finding out about their responsibilities. In practice this is not always the case, and it\u2019s an area where we continue to focus our efforts.<\/p>\n

The code then develops seven principles \u2013 leadership; integrity; decision making, risk and control; board effectiveness; diversity; openness and accountability; all underpinning organisational purpose. Why these qualities matter should be self-evident. Many of them are also key drivers of trust and confidence, and can help to demonstrate to beneficiaries, funders and donors that a charity is trust-worthy.<\/p>\n

It might look like a lot of detail, but start with the principles \u2013 what they are; the rationale \u2013 why they matter; and the key outcomes \u2013 what difference they should make. How they play out in terms of applying recommended practice will depend on the size and shape of your charity.<\/p>\n

The bottom line is, good governance is no longer an optional extra. It\u2019s essential to charities\u2019 effectiveness and probably their survival too. Charities need to be able to demonstrate that they take it seriously, allowing it to change the way they operate.<\/p>\n

The Charity Governance Code represents a standard of good governance practice to which all charities should aspire. We encourage all charities to read, follow and apply it proportionately to their circumstances. And if you sign up to the code, go public about it on your website or your annual report. Be prepared to stand up and be counted, and see the difference that makes.<\/p>\n

See the code at\u00a0https:\/\/www.charitygovernancecode.org\/en<\/a><\/p>\n

See the blog<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sarah Atkinson, Director of Policy and Communications, offers a blog update on the \u201812th year and\u2026 3rd edition\u2019 of the Governance Code for the charity sector in England and Wales. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sector-newsblog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16237"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16237\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16239,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16237\/revisions\/16239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}