Patrick Murray, head of policy and external affairs at New Philanthropy Capital, has broadly welcomed the new Code, but has noted that the debate around governance has previously focused on preventing “catastrophic collapses” such as Kids Company whereas “coasting boards” can also be a real problem in holding the sector back from having a greater impact.

NPC believes that the Code could go still further; especially in encouraging boards to report on impact annually and being explicit about the types of risk boards need to balance.

Commenting on the release Jenny Brown, chief not for profit operating officer, Grant Thornton UK LLP, added: “To really achieve the quality and excellence charities should be striving for, they should continuously consider how to instil and deliver good governance into their organisation’s culture and not view it as a separate compliance exercise. Our latest research found that, worryingly, over a third of charity respondents did not think there were adequate processes in place to evaluate the performance of the board. With trust in the market at a lower level in recent years it is essential that this be addressed and the code takes good first steps in this direction.”

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