Despite the best endeavours of their trustees, charities sometimes fail for reasons beyond their control. Recent years have seen charities suffer from the impact of public spending cuts, as well as reduced donations and falls in investment income all set against increasing demands for their services.
Charities are structured in many different ways; some are limited companies or similar, with directors enjoying the benefits of limited liability. Others may be unincorporated trusts or associations, where trustees are potentially personally liable for the charity’s debts. The structure dictates the options available for dealing with financial difficulties.
We understand the difficult challenges that trustees face in balancing their wish to do all that they can to deliver services and benefits to the charity’s clients, whilst at the same time complying with their duties of prudent financial management and legal compliance.
Trustees need to maintain a close watch over their organisation’s finances, and carefully scrutinise the reports and information provided by the charity’s managers. Where the financial outlook is deteriorating and there is a risk that debts will exceed assets, or that it will not be possible for debts to be paid when they fall due, it’s crucial that professional advice is taken as quickly as possible.
With our long experience of dealing with charitable organisations, we’re able to help trustees choose the best option whether that is restructuring, finding alternative funding streams, merger with another charity, a controlled winding down of operations or liquidation, administration or another insolvency process. We’ll offer practical advice on the risks and possible mitigation actions, and support trustees in their negotiations with key stakeholders such as funders and creditors.
Our team has vast experience, with a successful track record of handling assignments, from the smallest to the largest, from the straightforward to the most complex, and across a wide range of industries and sectors.
With our long experience of dealing with charitable organisations, we’re able to help trustees choose the best option…
The tri group approach
Calling on the services of a firm like ours inevitably means that there are serious problems to address, usually urgently. In summary:
We are committed to helping businesses with financial pressures to overcome those problems; we regard winding up as the last resort.
We’ll explain the process using clear, jargon-free language, and set out the issues that the client will need to address. We’ll support the client throughout the process.
An initial meeting will always be without charge or obligation. We do not charge clients for the privilege of explaining their problems to us.
Professionalism, Integrity and Compassion matter to us. We will always be driven by the need to provide the best possible advice, not to maximise our fees. We are interested in building long-term relationships with professional advisers.
When formal insolvency is unavoidable, we will help select the most appropriate procedure for the particular circumstances so as to achieve the most beneficial outcome for creditors, guarantors and other stakeholders.
We’ll spend time listening carefully and making sure that we fully understand the problems before we analyse the options.