AICD’s report card on national reform says “we must do better”

“… if our business sector faced the same red tape and regulatory burden as our charities and NFPs continue to endure, there would be uproar.” So said AICD Managing Director & CEO Angus Armour when releasing the AICD report card marking progress towards achieving national reforms recommended in the AICD’s 2017 Blueprint for National Reform.… Continue reading AICD’s report card on national reform says “we must do better”

Maintaining the social licence to operate: 2018 KPMG – AICD Trust Survey

Hard on the heels of the Edelman Trust Barometer report for 2018 (see my post of 21 February – Less trust in NGOs), the report on the 2018 KPMG and AICD Trust Survey Maintaining the social license to operate confirms that Australia, “like many other nations around the world, is facing a crisis of trust in institutions.” With over 30% of… Continue reading Maintaining the social licence to operate: 2018 KPMG – AICD Trust Survey

Misuse of public funds says Vic Ombudsman

The Victorian Ombudsman has tabled her report into the misuse of staff budget entitlements during the 2014 State election.  Key points in the wash up from this Inquiry are: 21 Labor MPs breached guidelines for use of Parliamentary funds The scheme saw Labor’s field organisers partially paid as Parliamentary staff Labor has paid back $388,000… Continue reading Misuse of public funds says Vic Ombudsman

Learning from others’ mistakes Part 5 – Codes of Conduct missing key elements

The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) published a report today which asserts that ‘poor corporate culture is linked to weaknesses in codes of conduct and whistleblowing systems’ within ASX200 companies. While the report focuses on large corporations in the for-profit sector, more and more not-for-profit organisations have been aligning their governance standards with ASX Governance expectations… Continue reading Learning from others’ mistakes Part 5 – Codes of Conduct missing key elements

ACNC highlights poor governance concerns

The Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC) has released their Charity Compliance Report 2017, covering activity from 1 January – 31 December 2017. This report uses aggregated data and de-identified information to offer insights into the compliance work of the ACNC, and outlines their compliance focus for the year ahead. The ACNC’s media release about… Continue reading ACNC highlights poor governance concerns

Data breach prevention and incident response

If you are a not-for-profit organisation with over $3 million in turnover, then you will doubtless be aware that today marks the first day of the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) Scheme.  This means you now have new obligations to notify affected parties and the OAIC in the event of a breach. The Office of the… Continue reading Data breach prevention and incident response

Learning from others’ mistakes Part 2 – Oxfam

If yesterday’s post regarding the CPA Australia Independent Review is considered Part 1 of a series about what we can learn from troubles experienced by not-for-profit organisations, then the Oxfam scandal can be considered Part 2. The UK Charity Commission has launched a statutory inquiry into “allegations of misconduct by staff involved in its humanitarian… Continue reading Learning from others’ mistakes Part 2 – Oxfam

Learning from the CPA Australia Independent Review

Some association directors and executives will have followed the unfolding story about CPA Australia quite closely during 2016-17, while others may have only occasionally noted that there was media interest in governance and management arrangements in that organisation. Now that the Final Report of the CPA Australia Independent Review is available, along with the Board’s… Continue reading Learning from the CPA Australia Independent Review

How transparent is your policy evidence?

Not-for-profit organisations want to ensure that their policy submissions to current and future governments are effective, and so they rightly look to align their arguments with election promises and policy platforms made public by the major parties, and to time their interactions appropriately within the policy cycle. Beyond those considerations, however, there is perhaps a… Continue reading How transparent is your policy evidence?