Hallmarks of success: charities in a more bracing financial climate

The Charity Commission has issued a revised version of their governance guidance, Hallmarks of an Effective Charity.

The new Hallmarks are not radically different. The Commission says that:

As well as updating the Introduction, the Hallmarks themselves have been redefined in order to clarify the overarching principles that an effective charity will want to adhere to. For example, we have drawn together good financial practice points to create a new Hallmark ‘Financially sound and prudent’.

There are some interesting changes to the financial elements to the Hallmarks including new references to monitoring cash flow, structuring in a tax efficient way and minimising the risks of trading activities. Its reasonable to suggest that these revisions reflect recognition of the challenges that charities (and other not-for-profits) face in a more bracing financial climate with the credit crunch and public finance squeeze.