A Conflict of Interest occurs when someone has more than one interest which may influence their decision-making or action on a particular matter. It often involves financial gain, but could also involve other interests such as benefits to friends or family, for...
Another area of good governance that I find community groups often struggle with is good financial management. All too often the poor Treasurer is left to manage everything and the rest of the committee breathe a sigh of relief that they don’t have to do it! But it...
One particular area of good governance that I find many community groups struggle with is Risk Management. But it doesn’t have to be a complicated or difficult process if you follow a few simple steps: Step 1 – Identify your risks: Look at what problems have...
Did you know there are more incidences of fraud in the community sector than the corporate sector? I’m not talking about the dollar value, but the ‘incidences-per-capita’, if you like. I don’t know about you but I was stunned when I heard this! I tend to think...
The position of Secretary is an important one within any Incorporated Association in Victoria and our Secretaries have some specific legal responsibilities that come from the Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012. And under this new Act, the role of Secretary...
I often say to community groups: ‘If you have no other policy documents in place...at least have a Code of Conduct!’, as this one simple document can be very helpful in preventing and dealing with any problem behaviour of members within your group. A Code of Conduct...
I heard a great saying recently: Vision Without Action is Hallucination! I think this is a great reminder that it’s one thing to come up with lots of great ideas of what your group (or yourself, for that matter) might be able to do, but without actually taking some...
Reviewing is a critical part of good governance that is frequently overlooked. Organisations spend lots of time and money creating fabulous Plans – Strategic Plans, Action Plans, Project Plans – the list goes on. But all too often they have filed away, never to see...
Good financial management of our community groups is critical – regardless of the size of your organisation’s bank balance. Some simple processes can easily be put in place to help you strengthen your organisation’s practices. Make sure any transactions on your bank...
Most of the time in our grassroots community groups, committee meetings and general meetings run pretty smoothly, and we get away with being fairly informal in the way we manage our meetings. But sometimes it is necessary to formalise proceedings, whether because we...
For any Incorporated Association in Victoria, their Rules of Association are effectively a contract between the association and its members. So it does surprise me how many organisations don’t know what their Rules say; have difficulty producing a copy of their Rules,...
Providing good quality service, support, or other outcomes to our various stakeholders should be at the heart of any organisation’s priorities. Quality Assurance is all about making sure your organisation meets the most basic of minimum standards acceptable in what...
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