Page New principles launched to support charities with good governance around investments in England and Wales
After a period of consultation amongst a wide group of bodies and individuals, the Charity Investment Governance Principles (CIGP) were launched in January. Whilst they are not a legal or regulatory requirement, they are intended to be used as tools to provide supplementary help and support to those of you involved in charity governance, so it’s well worth familiarising yourself with them and their benefits.
Of particular interest to charity trustees, staff, and committee members, the principles should be viewed as a tool for improvement and encouragement and users should definitely read how to effectively use them to ensure the practices are indeed relevant.
Developed by a dedicated steering group, seven core principles have been created; each principle has a brief description, a rationale (the reasons why it is important), key outcomes (what you would expect to see if the principle were adopted) and recommended practice (what a charity might do to implement the principle). The principles also contain additional resources to help charities implement the principles, including explainers, checklists, links to examples from other charities and sources of further help.
You might already be doing the majority of the recommendations as part of your own governance, but for others, some of the recommended practices could be new and worth trying. The Principles to be used as tools for improvement and encouragement are:
- Purpose of investments
- Leadership
- Integrity
- Decision-making, risk, and control
- Effectiveness
- Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
- Openness, and accountability
The principles follow the same format as the Charity Governance Code so can be used alongside or independently of the Code. A range of external providers can be involved in a charity’s investments, for example, investment managers, investment advisers, banks and property experts; the principles illustrate how these relationships can be conducted and overseen within a strong and effective governance structure.
Most excitingly for many of our clients who potentially do not have large amounts to invest, there is a specific section to support smaller charities, specifically those with under £1mn in assets, who may only be looking at cash investments.
Read here in full how these principles can help your teams via the dedicated CIGP website.
If you would appreciate an independent discussion about any of the principles above or you have questions relating to your governance, feel free to contact Andy Nash today who specialises in charity and third sector accountancy by info@enaidaccountancy.co.uk Tel: 02922 741174.
