Press release

Inquiry opened into Barry Green Memorial Fund following governance and financial management concerns

Investigation of charity’s accounts prompts further inquiry by charity watchdog

The Charity Commission has opened an inquiry into the Barry Green Memorial Fund (1000492), due to concerns that there has been misconduct and/or mismanagement at the grant-making charity.

The charity’s purposes include rescuing and supporting animals that have been cruelly treated.

The Commission previously opened a double defaulters’ class inquiry case into the charity on 9 December 2019, to examine its failure to file its accounts on time twice. During this work the Commission found several other regulatory concerns about the charity’s governance, including potential unmanaged conflicts of interest, and concerns over the charity’s financial management.

This new inquiry will examine the concerns identified at the charity, including:

  • the extent to which the trustees are complying with their legal duties in respect of the administration, governance and management of the charity, and particularly their financial accounting responsibilities

  • the extent to which any failing or weaknesses identified in the administration of the charity during the inquiry were the result of misconduct and/or mismanagement by the trustees

  • the extent to which the trustees responsibly managed the charity’s resources and financial affairs, and particularly how they have managed conflicts of interest

The Commission may extend the scope of the inquiry if additional regulatory issues are identified.

It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were. Reports of previous inquiries by the Commission are available on GOV.UK.

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Published 1 May 2020