Question tag: compliance
9 QuestionsWhat does FATF Recommendation 8 mean for our NGO?
I've been seeing a lot about FATF and the 2024 legislative changes in newsletters from sector bodies but I honestly don't understand what it means for us on the ground. We're a small community organisation — after-school programmes, community events, nothing that sounds remotely like money laundering. Does FATF Recommendation 8 actually affect small organisations […]
What core policies should every CSO in T&T have in place?
We're trying to do a policy audit and figure out what we have, what we're missing, and what we actually need. Right now we have our constitution and a basic financial policy and that's about it. I've seen lists of all the policies an organisation should have and it's completely overwhelming. For a small organisation […]
What safeguarding obligations do CSOs working with children have in T&T?
We run after-school programmes for children aged 8 to 16. We've never had an incident but I'm increasingly aware we don't have any formal safeguarding policy in place. We do some basic common sense things — no staff alone with a child, that kind of thing — but nothing is written down. I've been told […]
Do CSOs need to comply with T&T labour laws even though we’re non-profit?
We've always kind of assumed that because we're a non-profit we have a bit more flexibility with employment stuff — like if we can't afford to meet every single requirement at least people would understand. But someone recently told me that's not how it works and we're fully subject to all the normal labour laws […]
What are the minimum policies an HR function in a CSO should have?
We're a team of six and we've been going about four years. We have a basic staff handbook from when we started but it's very thin — leave entitlements, a bit about conduct, that's about it. We're about to take on new staff for the first time in a while and it's made me realise […]
Do we have to publish our financial information to the public?
Someone on our board raised the question of whether we're legally required to make our finances public. We currently share financial reports with our donors but we've never published them anywhere publicly. A local journalist once asked to see our accounts and we genuinely weren't sure whether we had to share them. What does the […]
Are CSOs in T&T required to have an annual external audit?
We're trying to figure out whether we legally need to get an external audit every year. We're fairly small — our annual income is around $300,000. Our previous auditor retired and finding a new one has been expensive and difficult. A colleague told me that small NPOs below a certain income threshold don't actually have […]
What financial policies should every CSO in T&T have in place?
We have a financial policy from about 2015 that nobody really looks at anymore. I dug it out recently and it's very basic and definitely out of date — doesn't even mention electronic payments. I want to do a proper update but I'm not sure what a good financial policy for an organisation like ours […]
What are Annual Returns and are CSOs required to submit them?
I keep seeing 'Annual Returns' mentioned in things I read about NPO compliance but I honestly don't know what they are or whether we're supposed to be filing them. We've been registered for three years and nobody has ever contacted us about it. Are these the same as tax returns? Do we have to pay […]