Interim managers appointed at charity that repeatedly files accounts late

The Charity Commission has appointed interim managers to a charity that has repeatedly filed its accounts late with the regulator.

The regulator has made the move over concerns at Gilbert Deya Ministries, a Christian charity that aims to support people “in condition of need, hardship or distress”.

The inquiry into the charity began in 2016 over concerns about its governance and financial management.

Its accounts for the year ending December 2019 are now more than 142 days overdue. This follows late filing of the previous three sets of annual accounts.

“The regulator says that there have been several examples of misconduct and mismanagement by the charity’s trustees during the course of the inquiry, including financial transactions that ran counter to legal orders made by the Commission,” according to the Charity Commission.

Geoff Carton-Kelly and Philip Reynolds of FRP Advisory Trading Limited have been appointed as interim managers.

They have been tasked with reviewing and assessing the charity’s financial position and to make recommendations around whether it remains solvent and viable.
The trustees remain otherwise responsible for the charity, added the regulator.

The charity’s latest accounts, for the years ending December 2018 show that its total income was £262,395, while its expenditure was £631,068. It had six trustees and 10 volunteers listed with the regulator at this stage.