BULLETIN NOVEMBER 2009

This is a bulletin which I send out regularly to around 10,000 clients, contacts, friends, friends of friend's so forth, to keep them in touch with what's going on in the world of charities. So much new material coming along right now that these bulletins write themselves. All I have to do is to sit hunched over my trusty typewriter pecking away at it, unlit cigar clamped between my teeth, glass of Glenlivet at my elbow, faithful dog at my feet.

Daryl Martin

CIO CONSULTATION:
Seems we have been waiting for ever for this new form of charity to be finally rolled out. The consultation has been completed and the results will hopefully be published by the end of the year. I am still finding charities that want to incorporate are holding off for the CIO. Best advice is still to proceed with incorporation if there is a good reason to do so. E-mail me if you want guidance for your specific situation (My money is that it will die with the next election, but let's wait and see).

BOOK-KEEPING SERVICE LAUNCHED:
How many treasurers are out there, desperately trying to appoint a successor? We have the solution! It's getting increasingly difficult for charities to find and keep good book-keepers even for simple accounts. We keep the books for a number of charities, some very small, some quite big. We have looked hard at our systems to see where we can simplify and increase our capacity, and we think we have come up with a combined book-keeping and independent examination service, that makes everything easy for the client. E-mail us for a quote. Our DEAL 2010 goes live in the New Year and starts at £99 plus vat per month.

FIRE SAFETY:
A gentle reminder that the regulations changed a while back and there is no longer a requirement for a fire certificate; it is now the owner/s or landlord or employers responsible for fire safety. A fire risk assessment must be carried out, documented and acted upon. If your charity is responsible for premises, this is important. A client company had a letter from a solicitor recently asking for a copy of the fire certificate, so there is still a lot of ignorance around on what the law requires (Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005). E-mail me if you need help with an assessment.

EMPLOYED OR SELF EMPLOYED:
I'm increasingly reluctant to enter this particular minefield. HMRC have come up with a helpful diagnostic to help establish employment status. It’s found at www.hmrcgov.uk/calcs/esi.htm. I had a little play with it and it seems to work. You can save the results and rely on it in any dispute with the HMRC over tax status.

DARYL'S BLOG:
Feels slightly pretentious to imagine one is sufficiently important to have a Blog. Nevertheless, it’s great fun and over time readers with a bit of time on their hands might find something worth thinking about. Check it out if you are getting to an age when like me, you have to turn the volume up on the TV.

LOAVESFISHESANDMORE.COM:
A few months back I mentioned this project masterminded by Congregational plc, and asked for recipes for a cookbook they were putting together. The book is now published and can be purchased from Amazon. Check the website: www.loavesfishesandmore.com. Great site; I fancy the Spanish fish stew. Donation made to Christian Aid for every book sold.

ID THEFT:
This is a growing problem. Twice recently our company credit card has been hijacked. Apparently London heads the world in identity theft, which is up by a third this year. Organised crime, illegal immigration and terrorism all plays a part. You may not always lose out financially but there can be an enormous price to pay in inconvenience and wasted time. Here are a few preventative steps you can take to minimise risk.

• Shred documents
• Take care entering personal details on the internet, (did you access the site from a link or directly?)
• Always look out for the security icon (locked padlock or unbroken key).
• Change your passwords regularly and don’t let anyone else know them!
• When you move home or office, make sure all mail is redirected.
• Don’t let your credit card out of your sight at restaurants etc.
• Don’t put personal information on Facebook etc. Who knows what friends you haven’t seen for half a lifetime have been up to for the last 20 years!
• It’s worth thinking about registering your details with a credit reference agency. For example CIFAS will put a marker on your name and address so anyone making application for credit in your name will automatically be double checked, and you will be notified.
• If you do suspect fraud act fast and tell your bank or other institution.

STAFFING ISSUES:
Our partnership with HR specialist Natalie Thompson gives our clients and contacts access to high quality HR expertise at very reasonable cost. I have asked Nat to make regular contributions to this bulletin. She responded by sending me some thoughts on workplace bullying, and some suggestions on e-mail internet and IT policies, including the issues around social networking. You can download a copy from our website. For help with any of your HR issues e-mail Nat: nvmrecruit@live.co.uk

TRUSTEES TRAINING:
I can’t resist this! Look what the chair of trustees wrote to me recently. "Many thanks for your work with us on Saturday… all the feedback has been positive and incredibly enthusiastic. It really does seem to have enthused people, reassured them that we are not too far off the right road and started a new atmosphere of working together. I am very grateful for your time, expertise and wisdom." Wow, book me in for a visit to your team now. This particular training was a full day, but I can work within your own time constraints. Louise has been able to arrange funding in some cases to help cover the cost, but there seems to be a minimum requirement of 5 on payroll. Contact Louise at training@iel.org.uk

GOOD BOARD GOVERNANCE:
I have been looking hard at the Carver good governance principles and seeing how they can be applied to the charities I work with. These principles sit particularly well with church trustee boards. Good governance must consist of more than simply applying the Carver principles; otherwise it’s as bad as jumping on the latest bandwagon to trundle along (something churches can be prone to). Carver’s encouragement to boards to stay out of the minutiae and focus on policy is quite groundbreaking for some, but in time it can be restrictive. The concepts of governance as leadership, and servant leadership, and how they can enable boards to make best use of their skills and gifts, needs to be examined. If you have material on this to help me, please let me know. Also if you want to be kept in touch with my views as they clarify.

AND FINALLY:

The cowboy's guide to life

Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen anyway.

Life ain't about how fast you run, or how high you climb, but how well you bounce.

Words that soak into your ears are whispered not yelled.

Life is simpler when you plough around the stump.

Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.

If you're riding ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there with ya.

Don't interfere with something that ain't bothering you none.

The easiest way to eat crow is while it's still warm. The colder it gets the harder it is to swaller.

If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is to stop digging.

The biggest troublemaker you'll ever have to deal with looks at you every mornin' in the mirror.

Remember; don't squat with your spurs on.

Live a good honourable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.

If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' someone else's dog around.

Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in.

Keep skunks and lawyers and politicians at a distance (twas ever thus!)

It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.

Better to be a has-been than a never-was.

Meanness don't jest happen overnight.

When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.