Interim Managers: 2007/08

The Charity Commission has the power to appoint an Interim Manager¹ to act as a receiver over a charity’s property.  We can use this power only after opening a formal Inquiry under section 8 of the Charities Act 1993 (as amended by the 2006 Act) and after we have obtained evidence of misconduct or mismanagement in the administration of a charity or if it is necessary to protect the charity’s property.

Usually we appoint an Interim Manager to manage a charity to the exclusion of the trustees and the charity normally has to pay the Interim Manager’s fees. For this reason we appoint an Interim Manager only after very careful consideration of other possible solutions to the problems the charity in question faces.  Where possible, appointments are made after a tender exercise, the purpose of which is to find an Interim Manager with the right skills and experience at a price that will provide the charity with value for money.

Although we can make appointments with the agreement of the charity trustees, most are imposed 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 inquiry report which (unless there are exceptional circumstances) is published after the conclusion of each Inquiry. These reports are available on the Commission's website. However, to further increase transparency, the Commission will publish each year on its website certain details of all Interim Manager appointments closed in the previous financial year and the number of such appointments remaining in operation.

Details for the financial year ending 31 March 2007 are provided below.

At the end of an appointment and on closing an Inquiry, a 'protections' figure is calculated to indicate the amount of charitable funds safeguarded or recovered as a result of our work. Such 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 calculated. We accept that much of our work will not result in claimed protections and in such cases other benefits and impacts of our work are measured. 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 are currently reviewing our use and the effectiveness of Interim Managers when we appoint them for charities. This will also include a review of our existing providers and the revision of our existing operational guidance OG5 – Appointment of Interim Managers.

As at 31 March 2007 four Interim Managers remain in place.

Interim Manager cases concluded in 2007/08

(all figures include VAT)

1. Under Sections 18 and 19 of the Charities Act 1993, as amended by the Charities Act 2006.