Clubs and Boards, War Stories
Here are some Horror Stories in Clubs I have Witnessed
Article by Warren Tapp
I thought it might be interesting to share some horror stories I have seen from my years consulting to Club Boards of Directors.
Story 1.
In one case a director abused a staff member over a minor matter. This resulted in legal action against the club and that director with significant penalties for both. The director was forced to resign from the Board.
The message here is for directors to stay out of the kitchen (operations) and not interact with staff, mainly in an abusive or bullying manner. Instead, the director should have taken their concern to the club manager to deal with it in a more appropriate manner.
Story 2.
In another case a director told the Chair a member had reported to him that the Chair was buying beers in order to win votes for the AGM. Evidence confirmed this was not true.
This resulted in a defamation action by the Chair against that member and the member’s expulsion. Instead, the director should have reported the matter to the CEO who would have commenced a disciplinary hearing on behalf of the Board to confirm if it was true and, if not, take action against the member.
The Chair resigned over the damage to his personal reputation by such unfounded allegations.
Story 3.
A small club was in financial decline and when I asked one of the directors if they were concerned responded by saying “I don’t understand finances so not my problem”.
It appeared the club had been trading while insolvent for some time and none of the Board knew that or seemed concerned.
I explained that s588G of the Corporations Act has very severe personal penalties for all directors.
Ignorance is no defense at law. It seems they had not updated their Constitution for 15 years and had no strategic plan at all or any accurate financial records.
Club directors be aware!
There is training on risk management in our online learning platform at https://clubgovernance.com.au/elearning-platform to assist you and your Board.
Who Needs Club Governance Training?
In our opinion every club and Association across Australia need Club Governance Training.
Governing a Club, Charity or any Not-for-profit is a big responsibility, and it cannot be done by well-meaning volunteers who do not understand their role.
Club Governance Training will;
- Board Members will know their responsibilities.
- You’ll have more productive Board Meetings.
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- Your Club will be more legally compliant.
Club Governance has developed an online training program for all Board and Committee members to ensure they know how to do their job.
It is available in 15 modules of about 15 minutes each and covers all the necessary knowledge they must have, based on our 30+ years of assisting organisations like yours around Australia.
