Somehow the start of a new year always gets us thinking about big plans and what the future might have in store for us.  For me, on a practical level, this has meant thinking about the replacement of my car which is coming to the end of its PCP term and that got me thinking about… Read More

Dafferns Managing Partner, Martin Gibbs, was the guest on the December 2019 edition of Lyn Bromley’s Exploring Excellence podcast. They discussed making the complex simple, building relationships, service excellence in action, investing in the Dafferns team to develop their potential, maximise their performance and deliver excellent service.  They also discuss the digital revolution and slightly… Read More

Monday 23 December. The UK’s new Conservative government now has a clear parliamentary majority of 80 seats to enable it to pass into law the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement by the deadline of the 31 January 2020. So it would seem the result has brought some clarity.  Or has it? On the 12 December 2019 the… Read More

Businesses that were deferred for MTD VAT need to now start thinking about the MTD sign up process as you will need to file under MTD for the first VAT return that begins on or after 1st October 2019. So the first quarterly MTD submission for deferred businesses will be the December 2019 return. The… Read More

Anything that could adversely affect your charity carrying out its plans or achieving its purpose is a risk. Trustees are required to ensure risk is managed so that the charity is not exposed to undue risk. To assist Trustees the Charity Commission has produced this guidance, click here to access. This document uses the following… Read More

An area where charities can often come unstuck is payments to Trustees. There are 4 potential types of payment: Payments of out of pocket expenses Payment for role as Trustee Payment for professional services / work Payment to a connected person The Charity should have a formal policy / process for claiming reasonable out of… Read More

Trustees are aware they must always act in the best interests of the charity and not for any private benefit. It is therefore important that all related party transactions are identified and conflicts of interest properly handled. A recent review by the Charity Commission identified “…a significant proportion of charities are not fully reporting their related party… Read More

A conflict of interest arises where a personal interest could, or could appear, to prevent a Trustee from making a decision in a charity’s best interest; where there is no financial benefit there could still be a conflict of loyalty. Conflicts of interest can arise where there is a transfer of money between the Trustee… Read More

The GDPR regulations came into effect in May 2018 which we reported on, in an earlier edition of Spotlight on Charities. The Information Commissioners Office have reported ”…most data breaches and complaints we have seen across all sectors, including charities, have been in relation to subject access requests, disclosure of data and security.” In response… Read More

Cyber crime involves attacks on or through computer systems and networks. Charities need to be vigilant and make sure appropriate defences are in place which includes raising awareness with their Trustee’s, staff and volunteers. The UK Government Cyber security breaches survey identified over 80% of charities had been subject to some form of attack in 2018. The… Read More