The Charity Governance Code should be made simpler, finance leaders have been told.
Speaking at the Charity Finance Group conference last week, the consultant Pesh Framjee, a special adviser to the CFG, said the code, which is voluntary, could be tailored to reach more charities.
Framjee said he was “surprised at the number of charities that don’t even know it’s there”.
He said: “I think it’s got some really good stuff in it but I also think it needs to be made simpler.
“We talk in the governance code of having an annual review against the code but when you look at the amount of pages and the number of recommendations it becomes quite difficult.
“What I’m seeing is charities getting sections of it, whether it’s equality, diversity and inclusion or another topic.
“What I would say is we need to have the background and the integrity of the code but make it simpler so people can use it more effectively to review their own charities.”
Carol Rudge, a partner and head of not-for-profit at the accountancy firm HW Fisher, said changes to the code were needed because the world had “moved on” since it was introduced.
She said the code needed to look at implementing more aspects of “culture”.
Rudge said: “While it does have parts in there on culture, inclusion and belonging, I think the world has moved on and perhaps it could have more of a focus on that feature.
The steering group behind the governance code last month opened a consultation on plans to “refresh and reshape” the code.
The code is free, but the consultation asks if charities would be willing to pay a small fee based on their size to use it.
The consultation runs until 11 August.