Frequent readers of Charity Commission investigation reports may have noticed a recurring theme: issues often arise when conflicts of interest are not managed effectively by trustees. Here are six questions to help you assess whether your charity has appropriate safeguards in place to manage conflicts of interest:
- Do our trustees understand what types of conflicts they need to declare? These could be financial interests, such as paying a trustee or their relative for work at your charity or its trading subsidiary. However, loyalty conflicts also need to be managed as they might cause trustees to take decisions that are not in the charity’s best interest. For example, if a trustee’s loyalty to another organisation may influence them, which could result in decisions that are not in the charity’s best interest.
- Do we have robust processes to identify and declare conflicts of interest? Your charity should keep a register of interests, update it regularly and have a standing agenda item at the start of every board meeting to identify and declare any conflicts of interest. Set and implement a conflicts of interest policy to tell trustees when conflicts of interest commonly arise, how to declare them and what the trustees’ responsibilities are.
- Are we checking for conflicts of interest during trustee recruitment? It is normal for trustees to have interests in other organisations. However, if their other interests are likely to cause a conflict, it is better to plan early whether or how the conflict can be removed or managed. So, enquire about trustees’ existing interests as part of the recruitment process and ensure that all new trustees read and understand the conflicts of interest policy as part of their induction.
- If a conflict of interest arises, do we need to remove the conflict? Trustees must take action to stop conflicts from affecting their decisions. If a conflict is serious, consider removing it, for example by asking a conflicted trustee to resign or by changing plans that would give rise to a conflict. If your charity board decides that removal is not required, manage the conflict.
- How do we manage remaining conflicts of interest? If the conflict involves trustee payments or benefits, or paying organisations or people connected to them, check that these are allowed by the charity’s governing document, the law and the Charity Commission or Court. If there is no specific guidance available to help you manage the conflict, as a minimum the rules require that conflicted trustees leave relevant discussions, do not participate in the decision or vote and are not counted in the quorum.
- Should we record conflicts of interest? Yes, keep a written record describing the nature of the conflict, who or what it affected, when it was declared and how it was managed. This will help your board demonstrate that you have acted properly.
Hopefully, these six questions will either reassure you that your board already manages conflicts of interest well or give you some practical tips on how to get there.
For further guidance, read the Charity Commission’s 5-minute guide on: