Trustee mismanagement led to poor financial governance at Al-Hassan Education Centre
Melanie May | 1 February 2017 | News
A Charity Commission investigation into Al-Hassan Education Centre in Leeds regarding repeated late filing of accounts has concluded that trustees mismanaged the charity.
According to its inquiry report, the Commission uncovered inadequate financial governance at the charity and that the trustees were not able to fully account for the charity’s funds in relation to cash collections and charitable expenditure. The charity also failed to submit accounting information for the financial years ending 31 March 2012 and 31 March 2013.
Wider governance failures within the charity were also uncovered, whereby the trustees were not adhering to some of the provisions within their governing document including: failure to hold Annual General Meetings since July 2013 or the required two trustee meetings a year and that they had no policies for loans and money laundering. The regulator also concluded there had been mismanagement by the trustees due to a lack of financial controls in relation to cash collected and spent following Friday prayers, and a lack of up-to-date policies and procedures.
The inquiry considered that the trustees had not acted in the best interests of the charity, put the charity’s funds at risk and concluded there was mismanagement and misconduct by the trustees.
The Commission issued an Order last November under the Charities Act requiring the trustees to take certain actions to regularise the charity’s governance, submit its outstanding accounting information and review its policies. The trustees have already taken steps to complete the actions, and the Commission states that it will continue to monitor the charity to ensure that its order is complied with.
Carl Mehta, head of investigations, enforcement at the Charity Commission, said:
“The trustees in this case failed to take basic steps to ensure that the charity’s funds were able to be accounted for. This is simply not acceptable and I expect the trustees to take measures to speedily correct this.”
“For many faith groups, collecting funds in cash is likely to be a regular occurrence as part of worship or devotion. Charities must ensure that they have in place effective and proper financial controls to ensure those funds are safeguarded.”
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.