w Regulatory environment Legal eagle’s bird’s-eye view of the sector By Rebecca Lambert-Smith, team leader, not-for-profits, Moores
Lawyer Rebecca Lambert-Smith from Moores, Our Community’s legal partner, advises charities and not-for-profits on getting established, structural issues, tax, governing documents, regulations and much more. With a keen eye on the regulatory environment, she takes a holistic look at how this year offers difficulties and new options for the not-for-profit sector. The increasing governance burden requires greater sophistication Community directors, particularly in smaller organisations, are often volunteers chosen primarily for their connection to the organisation’s mission rather than for their governance experience. However, good governance requires increasingly sophisticated skills and understanding. In 2019, community directors may need to consider the impact on their organisation of matters as diverse as recommendations from the banking royal commission; the new ACNC external conduct standards; changes for deductible gift recipients that are not registered charities; and a potential change in government.
The lesson for community directors is not only that culture is important, but that the public considers that setting and overseeing the culture of an organisation is a key part of good governance. Culture is no longer a solely operational issue – if it ever was. Community directors need to ensure that their organisation’s values meet changing community expectations and translate into dayto-day operations.
Your organisation should consider whether the level of experience of your committee or board is appropriate for the complexity of the organisation and the regulatory environment in which it operates. It may be appropriate to provide professional development to current community directors or recruit additional community directors with specialist governance qualifications.
Culture is your responsibility Recent royal commissions have caused significant reputational damage to organisations and the individuals responsible for their governance. Those investigations found that almost invariably, it was cultural failures that allowed misconduct to thrive.
Community Directors Intelligence February 2019
Rebecca Lambert-Smith continues to maintain a close eye on not-for-profit issues.
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