Report

The challenge of governance

By:

Sophie Hamlet

04 Feb 20251 min read

In November 2024 we hosted a virtual roundtable for chairs of audit committees focussing on the wide-reaching topic of governance, and the importance of (and barriers to) organisations achieving effective governance. Sophie Hamlet shares our report on the key themes and ideas shared.

Contents

The roundtable was attended by charity organisations' chair of audit committee (or equivalent), as well as our own audit and assurance experts in the not-for-profit sector. The conversation was held under Chatham House Rules, and we've collated a report summarising the responses to our key questions:

What does "effective governance" mean, and where do organisation focus their efforts to achieve that?
How important is it to have diversity of lived experience on a board versus variety of skill?
What does the "ideal board" look like, and where are the challenges in building that board?
What currently works well in the traditional governance structure, and what needs to change in the sector in the future?

You can find out more about the general response to these topics and the common themes arising by reading our report on the roundtable.