A ballooning number of corruption scandals at non-profits may result in more NFPs adopting tighter policies and procedures according to global CPA and business advisory firm Grant Thornton.
As a result, the number of not-for-profit organizations that have a defined conflict-of-interest policy in place rose to 78 percent this year, as opposed to last year’s mark of 67 percent, according to GT’s fourth annual National Board Governance Survey for Not-for-Profit Organizations.
“A conflict-of-interest policy protects the independence of board members, management, staff, the external auditor, and other vendors, so that each entity performs only its role and is not compromised in any way,” explained Frank Kurre, national managing partner of the not-for-profit industry practice.
Meanwhile, for the majority of NFPs, an appropriate-sized board has between six and 30 members. Some 40 percent of survey respondents said they have between 15 and 30 board members, while 39 percent indicated they have between six and 15 members.
Only 6 percent of the respondents said their board has five or less members, while 15 percent have a board of 30 or more.
