Corporate Governance of Charities in Ireland

By

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Background of the Study1

Problem Statement2

Purpose of the Study3

Aims and Objectives3

Rationale of the Study4

Scope and Significance of the Study5

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW6

Theoretical Approach to Corporate Governance6

Concept of Corporate Governance7

Internal corporate governance mechanisms11

Corporate Plan for Irish Non-profit Organisation21

Policies and Procedures24

REFERENCES26

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Over the past twelve years, corporate governance has seen a great increase in exposure to public discourse, especially in developing countries and emerging economies. This exposure has been fuelled by events throughout the world (Dwivedi, 2005, 16). The increase in attention was first sparked by the financial crises in East-Asia and other countries by the end of the 1990s and began to swell with scandals across the United States and Europe. These events demonstrated that "the behaviour of the corporate sector affects entire economies.

In connection with these specific events, globalisation has created greater pressure on countries to reform their corporate governance standards and increase organisational protection” (Denis, 2003, 1). The growing weight of empirical evidence has demonstrated that there is a close relationship between the quality of corporate governance, and long term development.

The occurrence of progressive reforms in nearly all jurisdictions worldwide is evidence of the growing global commitment to corporate governance reform. These reforms include legislative changes, the adoption of voluntary corporate governance codes, the creation of new regulatory bodies, and even the voluntary adoption of stricter corporate governance regimes by individual corporations (Davies, 2011, 149).

In Ireland, when a publicly traded company issues securities in the public market, under the Securities Act's registration rules, the company must disclose certain material and other specific information. Once the issuer conducts a public offering, the Exchange Act requires the company to provide the SEC and its shareholders with periodic and annual reports. 143 The operative word above is "material." Sections 11 and 12 of the Securities Act of 1933 and rules 10b-5 and l4a-9 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 impose liability where there is either a misstatement of the "material" fact or an omission of "material" fact necessary to make the statements (Davies, 2010, 36).

The notion of corporate governance in Irish charity organisations serves as a resource opportunity for management to improve the operating results and efficiencies of an organisation. The corporate governance can be defined as employment of individuals who have a basic understanding of economic terminology and are able to utilise relevant applications within their specific areas of job expertise. Organisational corporate governance is not about an employee's knowledge of debits and credits or the latest financing instruments that are available. It is rather a discussion of an organisation's efforts to develop and maintain an institutional knowledge base and understanding of corporate governance matters within broad areas of discipline or expertise. This expertise can be demonstrated by employees in the day-to-day performance of their functions throughout the organisation (Dalton, 2008, 67). Similarly, organisational performance allows workers to understand how their decisions affect corporate results, leading to better decision-making processes throughout the organisation.

Problem Statement

Organisational corporate governance issues have been ...