Glossary

Accreditation

A formal recognition that an organisation or individual meets specific standards, often used in training, quality assurance, or sector-specific benchmarks.

Accountability

The obligation of an individual or organisation to account for its activities, accept responsibility, and disclose results.

Audit / Auditor

A detailed independent scrutiny of a charity’s financial statements conducted independently by a registered auditor, providing assurance that they present a true and fair view. Required for larger charities or where specified by funders or constitutions/governing documents.

Audit Trail

A step-by-step record by which data can be traced to its source – a process of diligence looking through available evidence to understand an action or decision.

Beneficiaries

An individual or group that benefits from a voluntary organisation, social enterprise or charity’s work. Charities must demonstrate public benefit through their support and services provided to beneficiaries.

Board

The collective body of charity trustees. Also referred to as the board of trustees or governing body. The board sets strategic direction and ensure the charity delivers its purpose. Full wiki page here.

Charity

An organisation established for exclusively charitable purposes and for public benefit. In Scotland, charities must be registered with OSCR and comply with the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and successor legislation.

Compliance

Adherence to laws, regulations, guidelines, and specifications relevant to business or organizational processes.

Constitution

See wiki page here.

Due Diligence

The investigation or exercise of care that a reasonable person or entity is expected to take before entering into an agreement.

Duties

A duty is an obligation recognised by law that requires a person/organisation to act or refrain from acting in a certain way

Ethics

Principles that govern a person’s or group’s behaviour regarding what is good or bad.

Financial Conduct Authority

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) acts as the registrar and regulator for Community Benefit Societies (CBS) in the UK under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014.

For Profit

Organisations that operate to generate profit for owners or shareholders and any surpluses are distributed to them.

Funding

Financial support received by a voluntary organisation, social enterprise or charity, which may come from grants, donations, contracts, trading income, or legacies. Effective financial governance is essential for managing and reporting on funding.

Governance

The processes, systems, and practices through which organizations are directed and controlled. See wiki page here.

Governance Framework

A structure of policies, relationships, systems, and processes by which authority is exercised and controlled.

Governing Document

An overarching term for the written rules of an organisation, given different names depending on the legal type of organisation. These written rules may be called the constitution, rules, Articles of Association, trust deed etc.

Independent Examination / Independent Examiner

A lighter-touch alternative to an audit. An independent person (of varying degree of skill or qualification, according to a charity’s income) reviews the charity’s accounts and provides a report, typically used by smaller charities. Must meet OSCR’s criteria for independence and competence.

Inspection

A formal review or assessment by a regulator or funder to ensure compliance with legal, financial, or quality standards. Commmon for social enterprises and charities registered with the Care Inspectorate.

Internal Audit

An independent, objective assurance activity designed to add value and improve organizational operations.

Leadership

The ability of an individual or group to guide and influence others towards the achievement of goals.

Management Committee

A term often used interchangeably with “board” in smaller or community-based voluntary organisations or charities. It refers to the group responsible for day-to-day governance and oversight.

Performance Management

The process of ensuring that a set of activities and outputs meets an organisation’s outcomes effectively and efficiently.

Policy

A set of principles or rules to guide decisions and achieve outcomes agreed by an organisation.

Powers

Powers refer to the authority, capacity, or right conferred upon a person or entity to act, create, or revoke legal relationships or interests. Unlike duties, which are mandatory, powers are generally discretionary permissions allowing an entity to alter legal situations.

Procedure

A specific method or set of instructions to carry out a process or activity.

Registration

The act of recording a name or information on an official list. For this wiki that could include the process of applying to become a recognised charity, where this involves applying to OSCR and meeting the charity test. Or registering with the Care Inspectorate for activities your social enterprise undertakes to care for member of the public.

Regulation

A rule or directive made in law.

Risk

Any factor that could affect a organisation’s ability to achieve its purposes or objectives. Risk management is a key part of good governance and includes financial, reputational, operational, and legal risks.

Risk Management

The process of identifying, assessing, and controlling threats to an organization’s capital and earnings.

Scottish Charity Register

A public register maintained by OSCR listing all charities registered in Scotland. It includes details such as charitable purposes, trustees, and financial information.

Service User

A person who directly uses or receives the services provided by a voluntary organisation, social enterprise or charity. Often used in health, social care, and community development contexts.

Social Enterprises

Social enterprises trade in many markets – selling goods and services to individual consumers, local authorities, government and private businesses. They aim to make a profit just like any private sector business. However, their profits or surpluses are reinvested back into their social and/or environmental purpose.

Social enterprises in Scotland are often recognised as being asset locked so that only the community and society can profit from their work, buildings, land and other assets. Social enterprises must be sustainable in order to meet their social and/or environmental mission. The Voluntary Code of Practice for Social Enterprise in Scotland is a set of guidelines used by some Scottish social enterprises.

Stakeholder

Any individual, group, or organization that can affect or be affected by an organisation’s actions. This includes service users, beneficiaries, funders, public sector partners, even the wider public for bigger organisations.

Strategic Planning

The process of defining strategy and making decisions on allocating resources to pursue this strategy.

Sustainability

Operating in a way that balances environmental responsibility, social equity, and economic viability. It involves making decisions that don't negatively impact the organisation, environment or wider society, and that ensure long-term success and prosperity for the organisation and its stakeholders.

Third Sector

The collective term for organisations that are neither public sector nor private for-profit. Includes charities, voluntary organisations, and social enterprises.

Transparency

Openness in communication and decision-making, allowing stakeholders to see how decisions are made.

Trustee

‘Charity trustees’ are the main type of 'trustee' of relevance to this wiki. Charity trustees are defined in section 106 of the Charity Trustee and Investment (Scotland) 2005 Act as people having the general control and management of the administration of a charity. Charity trustees can also sometimes be known as committee members, directors or board members.

Voluntary Sector

A subset of the third sector, typically referring to charities, voluntary organisations and community groups that rely on volunteers and donations and are not-for-profit. More than 50% of the management committee or board is made up of un-paid volunteers.

Volunteer

An individual who gives their time freely to support the work of a voluntary organisation, social enterprise or charity. Volunteers are not paid but may receive properly receipted out-of-pocket expenses.

Whistleblowing

The act of exposing any kind of information or activity deemed illegal, unethical, harmful or incorrect within an organisation.