Accountability

Accountability is an important part of a trustees’ responsibility. Accountability can work in three ways:

• Trustees are accountable for the way they carry out their responsibilities and for the decisions they take. Trustees are held to account by those with an interest or ‘stake’ in a charity (often called ‘stakeholders’).
• Trustees carry out their accountability duties by ‘giving an account’ - explaining and reporting on their decisions and actions.
• Trustees might also hold to account individuals and groups who carry out work on their behalf. For example, the board of a large, staffed charity will hold the paid chief executive to account for their day to day management of the organisation.

Charities are accountable in a formal way (for example, to regulators, funders or members) and in a moral way (for example, to beneficiaries, service users, partner charities, staff, volunteers and the general public).

Trustees must comply with legal, constitutional and other requirements for formal accountability. These include requirements:

• Set out by regulators - these include the preparation of an annual report and accounts and, where required, the scrutiny of accounts and the filing of documents along with an annual return with the Charity Commission and (if the charity is a charitable company)
• Companies House. Specific requirements vary depending on the size and type of charity.
• Set out in their governing document - for example the rights and powers of a charity’s members to elect the trustee board and receive a report of the board’s actions.
• Set out in specific agreements – for example, contractual agreements.
• Set out in terms and conditions signed with funders that require them to report on the use of funds or work undertaken.

Involving and consulting with stakeholders is an important part of being open and accountable. Trustees might involve or consult with stakeholders as part of planning, decision making and evaluation - for example, by involving users at board level or in advisory groups.