When a charity faces a crisis due to a serious incident, there is a huge amount of pressure to act quickly. Whether it’s a safeguarding failure, financial mismanagement, or a systemic cultural issue, the instinct of many boards is to look internally for answers.
But when the Charity Commission is involved and an organisation’s reputation is on the line, handling things in-house may fall short of the legal and transparency standards required. To protect the organisation’s future, boards must look to an objective, independent review to satisfy regulatory scrutiny and restore public faith.
A external charity investigation is a way to impartially review an incident to understand why it happened and provide a roadmap of recommended changes to prevent its recurrence, whilst providing regulatory assurances and restoring public trust.
Prevention is better than cure
When a serious incident has occurred, the focus is on being reactive and finding out what happened and how it can be prevented in future but carrying out a governance review may have prevented the issue from occurring in the first place.
This is why we would always recommend organisations carry out a regular health check of systems, processes and policies as a way of minimising the possibility of an incident occurring. After all, charity trustees have a legal responsibility to ensure the charity is well-governed and should make informed decisions impartially, with the aim of benefiting the charity and its beneficiaries.
However, once a situation has escalated into a crisis, the time for preventative checks has passed and an independent investigation is the only viable way to establish the facts and begin the process of restoration.
Examples of Serious Incidents in a Charity
A serious incident in a charity poses a fundamental threat to the organisation’s mission. Such a crisis can be caused by a number of issues, including the following:
- Safeguarding Failures: Allegations of harm to beneficiaries or staff, often involving a failure of internal reporting systems.
- Financial Malpractice: Embezzlement, significant fraud, or the discovery that restricted funds have been used for operational costs.
- Cultural & Behavioural Issues: Systemic bullying, discrimination, or a poor leadership style that suppresses whistleblowers.
- Data & Trust Breaches: Massive loss of donor data or misleading fundraising practices that catch the eye of the press and the public.
No matter the cause of a serious incident at a charity, the resulting situation often involves the regulator, which demands a level of objective transparency that internal reviews simply cannot achieve in a way which satisfies the regulator and the public.
Who Regulates Charities?
In the UK, the primary regulator is the Charity Commission for England and Wales (alongside OSCR in Scotland and the CCNI in Northern Ireland).
The regulator’s interest is piqued the moment a Serious Incident Report (SIR) is filed—or, more dangerously, when they hear about an incident through the media first.
They aren’t just looking to find out what happened, they’re looking at how the Trustees responded. If the response looks like the facts are being covered up or is handled poorly, the regulator may open a Statutory Inquiry, which is a much more intrusive and public process.
The Trouble with Internal Investigations
When carrying out an investigation the charity should look for a solution which provides them with regulatory assurance. It is a natural instinct for a board to want to handle things in-house but in serious cases this could compound the problem. Internal teams are often too close to the individuals involved – even if they are perfectly honest, the perception of bias remains.
Most charity staff won’t have received workplace investigation training, and staff are rarely honest with internal investigators if they fear reprisals. As seen in this independent review concerning complaints handling for a national charity, handling complex complaints requires a level of detail and impartiality that internal teams often lack.
An independent investigation by Verita provides the platform for the truth to be found, ensuring the findings are robust enough to stand up to regulatory scrutiny.
Why a Governance Review Isn’t Enough
While many organisations benefit from proactive charity consulting to prevent issues, once a matter becomes a serious regulatory concern, a formal investigation is required. The table below breaks down the key differences between a governance review an external investigation, and when either should be deployed:
| Feature | Governance Review | External Investigation |
| Purpose | Health check – ensuring systems are fit for the future | Fact-finding; discovering exactly what happened in the past |
| Trigger | Periodic best practice or a change in leadership | A profound concern, event or regulatory requirement |
| Focus | Policies, board structures, and compliance | Evidence, witness testimony, and specific incidents |
| Outcome | A roadmap for better management | A definitive report on culpability and systemic failure |
The Restorative Power of an Independent Investigation
A charity investigation isn’t simply about apportioning blame. It’s about clearing the names of those who’ve done nothing wrong as well as giving victims or whistleblowers the sense that they have been heard.
It’s also about providing the Board with a factual basis to confidently make the hard decisions, whether that’s removing a founder or overhauling policies, systems or processes.
Case Study: Independent review concerning complaints handling
When a large national charity found its complaints-handling systems were failing to escalate serious concerns, they commissioned Verita to conduct this independent review. The investigation moved beyond the surface level of individual complaints to identify systemic failures in accountability.
By providing an objective, external account of where policies were being bypassed, the investigation gave the Board of Trustees the “independent assurance” they needed to overhaul their processes. The result went further than driving new policies, it restored culture of transparency that satisfied both internal stakeholders and external regulators.
In summary
At Verita, we provide expert governance reviews for organisations wishing to carry out a health check to minimise the risk of a serious incident occurring. But we are often called in when a situation has become serious enough for the regulator to become involved, and an investigation is required.
While prevention is always better than cure, if a situation demands more than standard oversight, our rigorous investigations and impartial reporting provide the clarity needed to resolve complex crises and rebuild trust.
If your charity needs help with an investigation, or would like to know more about our charity consultancy services, please book a free consultation, or if you prefer, use our contact form, or contact Ed Marsden on 020 7494 5670 or [email protected].
