The Regulator for Charities in England and Wales
June 2009
The Charity Commission has the power to appoint an Interim Manager1 to act in the administration of a charity. We can use this power only after opening a statutory Inquiry under section 8 of the Charities Act 1993 if we consider that there has been misconduct or mismanagement in the administration of a charity or if it is necessary or desirable to protect the charity’s property.
We usually appoint an Interim Manager to manage a charity to the exclusion of the existing trustees. The charity normally pays the Interim Manager’s fees as in the case of receiver or liquidator appointments by the court. The appointment of an Interim Manager is only ever a temporary and protective step. We therefore appoint an Interim Manager only after very careful consideration of other possible solutions to the problems the charity in question faces. Appointments are usually made under a two stage tender process. The purpose of this process is to find an Interim Manager with the right skills and experience at a cost that will provide the charity with value for money. The first stage involves a general assessment of whether the individuals and companies involved meet the basic requirements to go on an approved list of candidates from which appointments are usually made. The second stage begins once a decision is made that an Interim Manager should be appointed to a particular charity to sort out particular problems.
Although we can make appointments with the agreement of the charity trustees, most are taken forward without consent because in our view the problems facing the charity are sufficiently serious and the trustees are either unwilling or unable to put matters right themselves.
Details of individual appointments are provided in the statement of results of the inquiry which (unless there are exceptional circumstances) is published after the conclusion of each Inquiry. These reports are available on the Commission's website.
We also now include the details of the Interim Manager on the Register of Charities against the Charity they have been appointed to. This is updated as soon after the appointment is made as possible. This includes their name and contact details as well as now making clear whether they have been appointed to the exclusion of the existing trustees, or whether the existing trustees retain some responsibilities and duties. To further increase transparency, the Commission publishes each year on its website a summary list of all the Interim Manager appointments which have closed in the previous financial year and the appointments which remain in place.
Details for the financial year ending 31 March 2009 are provided below.
This includes a 'protections' figure for each appointment, calculated to indicate the amount of charitable funds safeguarded or recovered as a result. These protections are subject to close scrutiny and if there is any significant doubt about our role in protecting such charitable funds, then no protection figure is included. Some of this work will not result in financial protections. However, there will be other benefits and impacts. These include irregularities and inefficiencies found and put right; instances of helping introduce significant improvements in a charity’s governance; protecting a charity’s reputation and/or the reputation of the sector; and protecting the public from unlawful / unregulated fundraising.
We have recently completed a review of our use and supervision of Interim Managers. It included:-
The updated guidance and information can be accessed through the links below:-
As at 31 March 2009 four Interim Managers remain in place.
(all figures include VAT)
| Charity Details |
Interim Manager(s) |
Date Appointed |
Date Discharged |
Cost of Interim Manager (including disbursements) |
Legal, accountancy and other professional costs |
Net Value of Assets safeguarded or protected |
|
Bath Holiday Trust |
1) BDO Stoy Hayward |
06/05/2004 |
5/10/2006 |
£18,619 |
£ 3,878 |
£280,000. These funds were transferred to four charities operating in the West Country to use for proper charitable purposes |
|
2) Stone King |
05/10/2006 |
01/05/2008 |
£14,694 |
£0 | ||
|
Total |
£33,313 |
£3,878 | ||||
|
Astonbrook Housing Association Ltd |
John Ariel and Geoffrey Lambert Carton-Kelly of Baker Tilly Restructuring and Recovery LLP |
11/07/2007 |
10/03/2009 |
Details of costs to be updated once the inquiry report is published. |
| |