- Establishment and Purpose
⦁ The Finance Committee (the “Committee”) was established in 7/2021. The purpose of the Finance
Committee is to:
1.1 Assist the Board in fulfilling its responsibilities by providing an independent review of financial reporting and assisting the Board with, and overseeing, the Board’s financial responsibilities. The Committee is responsible for all matters relating to the financial affairs of Aspire and will provide the Board with an independent review of the budgetary process.
1.2 The Committee shall monitor and review the accuracy and integrity of the financial statements of the Charity, including its annual and monthly management statements.
1.3 The Committee shall have responsibility for assisting with the areas of strategic financial planning to include: – raising, collection, investment, borrowing and outlay of all monies required to fund its activities, and overseeing resource management, financial monitoring and policy related issues and to provide timely advice and recommendations to the Board on areas within its remit. This will include assessment of grant applications prior to submission.
1.4 The Committee shall ensure that effective systems, financial controls and procedures are in place to enable Aspire to operate in an orderly and efficient manner, and, shall report to the Board on internal controls and procedures and on external audit requirements. - Membership
2.1 The Committee shall consist of at least three members, at least two of which must be members of the Board.
2.2 The Committee may co-opt other individuals with the relevant skill and expertise required.
2.3 The term of a Committee member is for two years and a member may be reappointed to one consecutive term in order to ensure transfer of knowledge and continuity amongst Committee members.
2.4 At least one member of the Committee shall have recent and relevant financial experience.
2.5 New members of the Committee will receive a copy of these Terms of Reference.
2.6 To facilitate succession and recruitment to the Committee, potential members may attend and contribute to meetings. The number of such members should not, except in exceptional circumstances, exceed five individuals. Potential members will not be entitled to vote.
2.7 The membership of the Committee will elect a Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer.
2.8 Members of the Committee may be removed under the provisions laid down for withdrawal of membership within the company’s constitution.
2.9 Committee members commit to:
⦁ Act as role models for the promotion of the charity’s purpose.
⦁ Maintain dignity and respect for all members.
⦁ Ensure confidentiality at all times, while promoting open and honest discussion. Each member is required to maintain confidentiality around all information, and documentation which they obtain in the course of duties relating to the business of the Committee.
⦁ Be well informed and make a positive and constructive contribution to the work of the Committee.
⦁ Perform any tasks delegated in a timely manner and to the best of their ability. - Committee Roles
3.1 The Chairperson will be responsible, with the Secretary, for calling meetings, providing an agenda, and facilitating the meeting. Members should advise both the Chairperson and Secretary of items they wish included on an agenda in advance and in a timely fashion.
3.2 The Secretary will be responsible for contacting members in a timely manner to inform them of the meeting date, time and venue. The Secretary will organise the venue and distribute the agenda in advance. The Secretary will also keep minutes of meetings and distribute these in a timely fashion by email after meetings.
3.3 The Committee can and shall agree by majority vote other roles to be created and the associated responsibilities of those roles. A member of the Committee may act in more than one role if required, as determined by the Committee. - Committee Meetings
4.1 The Committee shall hold at least two meetings pa and a quorum of 2 members is required, which includes either the Chairperson (or nominee) or Secretary (or nominee). Meetings may be held more often where deemed necessary.
4.2 While attendance in person is preferred, members of the Committee may contribute to meetings by other forms of electronic communication that allow interaction, such as phone or ZOOM, in where each member participating in the meeting can communicate with all the other participants, and such contributions will be considered attendance for the purpose of ensuring a quorum, if necessary.
4.3 Notice shall be forwarded to each member and any other person required to attend no later than seven working days prior to the date of the meeting.
4.4 The Secretary shall keep the minutes of the proceedings and resolutions of all the meetings of the Committee, including recording the names of those present and in attendance.
4.5 The Secretary should ascertain, at the beginning of each meeting, the existence of any conflicts of interest and minute them accordingly.
4.6 Draft minutes of Committee meetings shall be circulated promptly to all members of the Committee. Once approved, minutes should be circulated to all other members of the Board unless in the opinion of the Chairperson of the Committee it would be inappropriate to do so.
4.7 The Chairperson shall have discretionary power to call a special meeting. Not less than three days’ notice shall be given to every member of such special meeting and the business to be transacted thereat shall be clearly stated. - Governance and Reporting
5.1 The Committee will report quarterly to the Board of Directors of Aspire.
5.2 The Committee will also make members available to the Board of Directors of Aspire, as needed or when requested by the Board of Aspire.
5.3 One of the meetings should normally be held in advance of the Aspire AGM to facilitate reporting to the Aspire AGM. This meeting should also be taken as an opportunity to invite new members onto the Committee and to confirm the continued commitment of current Committee members when required.
5.4 Decisions of the Committee shall be made by discussion and general consensus. Decisions that are failed to be reached by this method will be made by majority vote of members in attendance at meetings.
5.5 Committee members who are unable to attend in person or through other means may, on receipt of the agenda, advise the Secretary of matters that they feel requires a Committee decision and, may advise the Secretary of how they would vote. Both the matter and vote must be communicated in writing by email or letter, in a timely fashion in advance of the meeting. Note that a text message is not sufficient.
5.6 In the case of a split decision at a meeting, the Chairperson shall have a second vote in order that the decision can be validated.
5.7 The Committee may conduct appropriate and time limited deliberations and decision-making, including voting, via email if necessary. In such instances, reasonable time and a clear deadline for input and voting should be made known to members. - Amendment, Modification or Variation
Any amendments, modifications or variations to the Terms of Reference can only be implemented upon agreement by the Aspire Board of Directors.
These Terms of Reference of Aspire were adopted by the Board of Directors on
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