Chartered Secretaries Tackle NFP Governance
11 August 2010 at 3:12 pm
Peak professional body, Chartered Secretaries Australia (CSA) is offering Not for Profit organisations an opportunity to connect with their members who provide free governance advice and support.
CSA says its members are using their experience and knowledge in governance across a range of organisations to give back to the community and help Not for Profit organisations improve their governance practices.
Tim Sheehy, Chief Executive of CSA says its members are working towards improving governance in the Not for Profit sector in Australia, by offering their expert advice, knowledge and skills on a pro bono basis.
A Not for profit organisation assisting young people living in remote communities, called Red Dust Role Models, has already benefited in a range of ways after participating in the program.
Lisa Deramond, a CSA member, assisted Red Dust by providing advice on the importance of understanding the duties of a company secretary, directors and officers. This included drafting minutes and developing organisational skills to manage their secretarial work, reviewing their register of directors, providing advice on the principal place of business and making sure details were correctly recorded.
Deramond says this is an excellent program, which helps enable those with no or little formal training working in the Not for Profit sector to expand their skills and be able to help the organisation by developing their systems using best practice governance models.
Following the pilot program in NSW and Victoria, CSA will look to take its program nationwide.
The process involves CSA members and NFP organisations being carefully matched by a review panel, to provide the best fit for both members and the organisations. The panel also determines which NFP organisations are eligible to participate in the governance advice program, based on any funding and resource restrictions the organisations may have.
Many CSA members have worked with NFP organisations in the past to implement a range of initiatives including conducting due diligence checks, assessing the current state of governance within the NFP, general mentoring and preparation of core documents.
Not for Profits interested in participating in the program can contact CSA for a copy of the general submission guidelines at info@CSAust.com or call 02 9223 5744
