Bookshelf 8 - Governance

Boards That Work: A Guide for Charity Trustees
By David Fishel
Pub DSC 2003 ISBN 1903991161 £16.95
This book covers board responsibilities, board processes and resources. It includes a wealth of useful advice and a range of case studies. It is aimed predominantly at the small to medium sized organisation. David Fishel’s experience is in arts organisations – as senior staff member and as Board Member and he ran the Arts Council’s Board Development programme. David sees the Board as fund-raising champions for the organisation, and in addition sees its role as challenging the organisation’s thinking, questioning its role, and pushing the organisation to think big and look 10 - 15 years down the line. Review
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Care, Diligence and Skill: A corporate governance handbook for arts organisations
by Graham Berry and Paul Pia
Pub: Scottish Arts Council 5th Edition 2002 ISBN 1851191054 free
A useful guide to the role and responsibilities of board members in arts organisations. Full of wise words and warnings! It is most relevant to organisations that are limited companies with charitable status and employing a number of staff members. Review

Charity Trustee's Handbook
By Mike Eastwood
Pub DSC 2001 ISBN 1 900360 88 8 £7.95
A short, well-written guide on the role of charity Trustee – including a section on why refuse to be a trustee. Very practical, very helpful – both at the point of becoming a Trustee, and perhaps more importantly while on a Board/Committee. There are good checklists, and an example financial report which is worked through to show you what to expect and what to look for. The guide covers a broad range of subjects – from mission statements to funding, from managing volunteers to working groups, from cashflow to communications. Review
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The Good Governance Action Plan for Voluntary Organisations
By Sandy Adirondack
Pub NCVO ISBN 0 7199 1603 8 £10.00
This very practical set of action points focuses the mind wonderfully on the role of the Board, with sections on discussion, decision-making and delegation, vision and values, and external relations as well as the more obvious finance and being a good employer.
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A Management Companion for Voluntary Organisations
by Tim Cook and Guy Braithwaite
Pub: DSC £12.50 2000 ISBN 1900360675
This book developed out of monthly mentoring meetings over 20 years between the two authors and draws on experiences from other staff, directors, departmental heads, committee members and chairs in voluntary organisations. Sections cover the Committee, the Director, the team, and outsiders. The introduction includes useful reminders about the nature of voluntary organisations – they are “in effect a delicate ecosystem”, and “Unlike some commercial enterprises there is no profit motive or easily available measure of success.” As well as interesting descriptions, there is also plenty of useful advice on the role of the chair, committee behaviour, changing direction, the role of the director, appointing a new director, and teamwork.
This book is particularly useful to anyone in the chair or director role but also all those concerned with voluntary organisations and their management.
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Charity Treasurer's Handbook
By Gareth Morgan
Pub DSC 2001 ISBN 1900360896 £9.95
This introduces finance management in the charitable sector for those without formal accountancy training, or those whose knowledge of finance is from the private sector. It is a clear accessible guide that provides an overview of the issues involved, and should be invaluable to arts managers, Local Authority and Arts Council officers and Board Members on Finance Sub-Committees or in the role of Treasurer. An explanation is given of the specifics of the voluntary (not for profit) sector and the requirements for independence, accountability and the development of a relationship of trust. Accrual or payments and receipts accounting, accounting for separate funds, apportionment of core costs, and setting a reserves policy are defined and explained. There is useful guidance on independent examiners if your organisation is small enough not to need an audit. Different scales of operation are covered, from the Treasurer doing it all, to significant paid finance staff answerable to the Board. The fact that overall financial responsibility is held by the whole Board is stressed “However, in practice, one of the hardest skills for a Charity treasurer or finance worker is to enable the trustees to exercise this responsibility effectively so that all major financial decisions are taken by them on an informed basis.” There is plenty of information within this little book to help them to do just that. Review
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The Minute Taker's Handbook
By Lee Comer, Paul Ticher
Pub DSC 2002 ISBN 1 9000360 99 3 £9.95
From the origins of the word, the role and purposes of minutes and the minute-taker, the importance of preparation, to note-taking skills, ideas on layout and what to do after the meeting – it is all here. Wonderfully useful stuff, not only for minute-takers, but also for all co-ordinators of the meeting process and chairs of the meetings themselves. It covers both formal and less formal settings, explains meeting conventions, and has a glossary of terms. Review
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Bookshelf 8