The Kids Company case - Impact on charity governance
The outcome of the court case into the governance of Kids Company has the potential to impact charity governance considerably.
This is a recording of a live webinar that took place on 13 April 2021.
In addition to the recording, a copy of the report will be available here shortly.
Description
The outcome of the court case into the governance of Kids Company has the potential to impact charity governance considerably; particularly the way trustees undertake their roles and the way the chief executive interacts with the board. Given the complex issues surrounding who may be deemed a shadow or de facto director (and trustee in charitable companies), the repercussions of falling foul of them can be considerable.
The case has raised several governance issues relevant to many charities, not just those established as charitable companies, such as:
- What should trustees be doing to review business and operational plans to ensure they are fit for purpose?
- How can trustees balance the needs of current and future beneficiaries of the charity?
- Is the ‘unitary board’ a more appropriate framework for governing charities?
- How can the board ensure effective oversight of senior managers?
- Does the charitable company limited by guarantee structure continue to offer protection to trustees?
- Are fewer trustees likely to volunteer as a result of the case? And if so, what can be done to reassure volunteers to serve?
Watch this debate as our panel seek to answer these questions and share their thoughts on the new era for charity governance.
Speakers
This webinar will be hosted by Louise Thomson, Head of Policy (NFP).
Speakers include:
- Alex Skailes, Director and CEO, Centre For Charity Effectiveness, Cass Business School
- Shirley Otto, Independent specialist in third sector organisations in Scotland
- Gareth Morgan, Founder, The Kubernesis Partnership LLP
- Shivaji Shiva, Partner, Charity law and governance, VWV Birmingham
Alex is a Director and senior academic at Cass Business School, City, University of London and leads their Centre for Charity Effectiveness (Cass CCE). She has combined a senior career in financial services with periods of postgraduate study and over a decade of working solely within the nonprofit sector – as an educator, adviser, charity board chair and trustee. Her teaching and PhD research focuses on mergers within the charity sector, exploring the resultant social value created and the nonfinancial components that contribute to this.
Alex is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Society for Arts, Manufacturing and Commerce. She is a Freeman of the City of London and sits on the finance and audit committee of the Seckford Foundation.
Shirley has worked with charities, community and voluntary organisations for 40 years, the last 20 with the Third Sector in Scotland. This work includes assisting service providers, self-help groups, feminist organisations, collectives and housing associations; and might be in the form of (i) training, in and out-house, governance topics, (ii) facilitation of strategic planning sessions or (iii) facilitating action learning sets. Shirley has a particular interest in the dynamics within boards and between board members and their paid and volunteer staff.
Shirley has a doctorate in organisational psychology from the University of London, based on the study of the roles of chairs of boards and senior staff. She is the author of academic and practical publications on governance in the third sector and was a member of the workgroup that devised the Governance Code for the Third Sector in Scotland.
Professor Gareth Morgan is Senior Partner of charity consultants The Kubernesis Partnership LLP (now based in East Lothian, Scotland) and Emeritus Professor of Charity Studies at Sheffield Hallam University.
For over 25 years he has been involved in policy work regarding charity legislation and accounting across the jurisdictions of the UK. He has led university research projects in this field and is the au-thor of two charity books and a wide range of articles and research papers on issues of charity regulation and accounting. He has provided oral evidence on charity regulation to Parliament. In 2018/2019 he was appointed by the four charity regulators of the UK and Ireland as Independent Chair of the ‘Charities SORP Governance Review’.
Shivaji is a charity lawyer.He advises on the creation of charities, their dissolution, and most of the issues they encounter in between. He works with a wide variety of local, national and international charities. Independent sources describe him as ‘very knowledgeable’; ‘expert’; and ‘very enthusiastic’ - and he writes and regularly speaks on charity governance issues. Shivaji has a particular specialism in advising faith charities on complex governance issues, including internal disputes and charity proceedings.
Away from his desk, Shivaji is a serial charity trustee and an occasional transport campaigner, currently promoting ‘Low Traffic Neighbourhoods’ to provide people-friendly streets and safer routes to school in Birmingham.
