A Donegal charity at the heart of an investigation by the Charity Regulator is now in the clear.
The body held an inspection into the Good and New Shop last month and found that it has followed a recommended course of action.
Last February, the Regulator imposed an intermediate sanction on the Letterkenny-based charity after finding it had contravened section 47 of the Charities Act 2009 by failing to keep proper books of account.
The charity had denied any wrongdoing at the time.
Among those calling on the charity to be more transparent were local GP Dr James McDaid.
The notice set out the proposed imposition of an intermediate sanction, as well as the requirement for the charity to rectify the contravention within a specified timeframe, and to adopt an advised course of action to ensure that the contravention concerned would not occur again.
The notice set out the proposed imposition of an intermediate sanction,
being the publication of the contravention on the website of the Charities
Regulator.
The notice also set out the requirement for the charity to
rectify the contravention within a specified timeframe, and the requirement
to adopt the following course of action for the purposes of ensuring that
the contravention concerned would not occur again:
– Introduce formal documented procedures for maintaining adequate
accounting records;
– Assign the task of keeping proper books of account to a person(s)
with the appropriate skills and experience;
– With regard to financial reporting:
· Introduce regular financial reporting detailing the income and
expenditure (including the nature of that income and expenditure)
and the assets and liabilities of the charity, and
· Ensure all financial reports are scrutinised by the charity
trustees under a standing agenda item – ‘financial performance and
position of the charity’ as part of all trustee meetings.
On February 12, 2018 the charity accepted the imposition of an intermediate sanction under section 73 of the Act, and undertook to rectify the contravention and adopt the course of action specified in the notice.
On 28 June 2018, the Charities Regulator carried out an inspection of the
charity to determine if the charity had rectified the contravention and
adopted the course of action set out in the Notice.
The Charities Regulator said it is satisfied that the charity has rectified the contravention referred to within the specified timeframe and
has adopted the course of action set out in the notice.
