Governance – Citizens Advice Bournemouth Christchurch & Poole
As an independent charity, Citizens Advice Bournemouth Christchurch & Poole is governed by a Board of Trustees.
The primary role of the Trustee Board is to ensure Governance of the Citizens Advice Bournemouth Christchurch & Poole activities.
Governance means the way the organisation is set up and run. It is partly about the procedures, policies, documents and management arrangements in place for the way the organisation is administered and controlled, including its finances and delivery of what it has been set up to achieve. It is also about the organisation’s relationships with the stakeholders and the aims and objectives of the organisation.
The Trustee Board operates in much the same way as any company board of directors, but has no shareholders to be responsible to, instead its responsibilities are covered by Charity Commission rules and Legal requirements.
Ensuring compliance – Trustees must ensure that their charity complies with:
- Charity law, and the requirements of the Charity Commission as regulator; in particular you must ensure that the charity prepares reports on its work, and submits annual returns and accounts as required by law.
- The requirements or rules, and charitable purpose and objects, set out in the charity’s own governing document. All trustees should have a copy of this document and be familiar with it.
The requirements of other legislation and other regulators (if any) which govern the activities of the charity. - The requirements for trustees to act with integrity, and avoid any personal conflict of interest or misuse of charity funds or assets. You should check the charity’s governing document for provisions in relation to conflict of interests.
Duty of prudence – Trustees must:
- Ensure that the charity is and will remain solvent; this means that you need to keep yourself informed of the charity’s activities and financial position.
- Use charitable funds and assets wisely, and only to further the purposes and interests of the charity.
Avoid undertaking activities that might place the charity’s property, funds, assets or reputation at undue risk. - Take special care when investing funds of the charity or borrowing funds for the charity to use.
Duty of care – Trustees must:
- Exercise reasonable care and skill as trustees, using personal knowledge and experience to ensure that the charity is well-run and efficient.
- Consider getting external professional advice on all matters where there may be material risk to the charity, or where trustees may be in breach of their duties.
Jane Burrows – Chair of Trustees
Jane is a member of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute. In 1997 she went to work for the unitary council at the Borough of Poole and became a Principal Officer, taking on a wide role across all regulatory functions for Trading Standards as well as Environmental Health and Licensing. Through a liaison role on consumer protection, she became a trustee for Citizens Advice BCP.
Andrew Karno – Vice Chair of Trustees
Before retiring in 2014, Andrew worked in the IT industry for over 35 years in a variety of sectors, including over 20 years in Investment Banking where he specialised IT development, Project Management, and IT Risk & Control. Prior to moving to Bournemouth in 2020, Andrew was a Trustee of a learning disability charity in Woking, Surrey.
Paul Kemp – Treasurer and Company Secretary
Paul joined the charity in 2023 after 34 years working in industry, initially as a development chemist before concentrating on finance, IT and business change leadership. He has worked for a number of large multinational companies, including British Airways and Cobham plc, the multinational aerospace and defence company.
Paul retired from full time employment in 2014 and served as a Non-Executive Director and Audit Committee Chair at Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust between 2015 and 2023. In 2018, Paul was appointed as a Justice of the Peace, sitting on the Dorset bench, and works as a Volunteer with the charity Hope for Food.
Michael Gibson – Trustee
(Details to follow shortly)
Sarah-Jane Maidens – Trustee
Sarah is a chartered accountant with a law degree. She has worked in the financial sector overseeing the compliance function and ensuring high ethical and governance standards for over 30 years. Since 2007 she has been a partner of a firm providing outsourced services in the asset management sector with her focus on regulatory compliance.
Ann Dimmock – Trustee
(Details to follow shortly)
Jacqueline Rance – Trustee
(Details to follow shortly)
Matthew Moore – Trustee
Matthew is a practicing law solicitor, originally qualified as a barrister in 1999. He initially worked in criminal law but switched to family law when he moved to Bournemouth in 2000. During his time at Gales Solicitors he has dealt with a wide range of family problems including domestic violence and care cases. He became involved with Citizens Advice 11 years ago as a trustee.
David Sargent – Trustee
David grew up in Christchurch becoming a qualified management accountant who held several financial director roles in manufacturing companies. In years prior to retirement, he worked for PWC in Business Recovery Services specialising in Working Capital Management. As a retirement hobby, he purchased and ran a small hardware shop in Upton, which his son is now running. More recently he held Non Exec roles with Magna Housing Association, Healthcare Dorset and then in early 2019 joined Citizens Advice Bournemouth Christchurch & Poole.
Chika Norah Udezue – Trustee
Chika is a journalist by profession and worked as a broadcaster before switching to writing for newspapers and magazines, mainly in the oil and gas industry in the Middle East for many years. She also worked as a community relations adviser for the Southern Area of the biggest oil company in the world, Saudi Aramco before coming back to settle in Dorset at the end of December 2016. She still works as a freelance journalist.
She was appointed a Justice of the Peace for England and Wales in April 2019 and sits in both the criminal and family courts in Dorset. Chika is the Coordinator of the Dorset Magistrates In the Community (MIC) programme as well as the Diversity and Community Relations Magistrate (DCRM) for Devon, Dorset and Cornwall. She is a motivational speaker, community focused, and a member of several panels in and around Dorset. She is also a trustee of another charity organization, the International Care Network (ICN) In 2020, she received the Dorset High Sheriff’s award for services to the community.
Chika is the Director of Manorah Services Ltd, a medical service company. She holds a master’s degree in Human Resource Development (HRD).