Advice on purchasing policies
Just as the raising of funds is essential to the
well being of charities, so is the effective spending
of resources.
In our experience, there are three quite distinct
areas where trustees and administrators often need
guidance.
These are :-
- People involved in charities are often highly
motivated, inspired individuals but sometimes lacking
in business experience. Sad to say, many suppliers
know this and take advantage of it. We have often
seen examples of old, out of date and unsaleable
computer equipment being palmed off on charities
at inflated prices. We have known of cases where
service agreements have been entered into that would
not have been entertained in the commercial world.
- The Charity Commission quite rightly encourage
the separation of powers between trustees and administrators
ie the policy makers from the executives. However,
this requires that are sound systems of delegation
laid down so that the powers of individuals to incur
expenditure are rigourously controlled. Because
something is in the budget does not mean it has
to be spent. If something is not in the budget,
then there should be clearly defined procedures
to authorize the spending.
- Specific purchasing policies should be laid down.
These might include joint arrangements with other
charities sharing the same activity, or in the same
geographical area so that bulk purchasing discounts
can be obtained. They might include a critical review
of whether national local authority or other public
body salary scales really are appropriate for this
particular charity. They might include ethical guidelines.
Peter Brown & Co can assist in developing such
policies. We also have access to funding under the
Government’s Home Computer Initiative, under
which computers can be supplied at heavily discounted
prices to employees of the charities for whom we act
through a payroll scheme. Further details of this
are available upon request, using our enquiry
form.
As members of the AVN network of accountants, we
are a part of the National Campaign (http://www.thenationalcampaign.co.uk),
whereby members have committed themselves to giving
away £20 million pounds worth of professional
services to UK business and the voluntary sector,
in the form of discounted professional services. Many
services that we provide will reflect a discount representing
our contribution to the National Campaign.
As with all our services, our fees are highly competitive.
Our offices are set in a rural location, and therefore
we have low premises overheads. This means that we
are able to offer the highest quality services, very
often at the lowest price.
For further information, please email info@sorpaid.com
or complete our Enquiry
Form
|
