Judging Criteria

Please note: For organisations in categories 1 and 2 it is not mandatory to submit financial statements prepared in accordance with Charities SORP.

Transparency (50 points)

1. Is it clear what the organisation’s purpose and mission are?
2. Are the organisation’s key goals or objectives clear?
3. Does it outline the organisation’s origins?
4. Does it describe the organisation’s beneficiaries or service users?
5. Does it outline the services or supports the organisation offers?
6. Is there a Chairperson’s report detailing highlights, challenges and linking past and current reports?

2.       Governance (90 points)

1. Does it outline the organisation’s structure? (unincorporated association/company limited by guarantee/charity/co-op)?
2. Does it list the names of the Board?
3. Does it name the Chair?
4. Does it name the Secretary?
5. Does it name the Treasurer?
6. Does it detail how Board members are appointed?
7. Does it specify the term limit, tenure or rotation of Board members and officers?
8. Does it provide clear details of its volunteers/employees, how they are recruited and what roles they do?
9. Does it state that the organisation in compliance with a relevant Governance code e.g. Charities/Sports/Housing Body Governance Code?

3.       Performance & Impact (150 points)

1. Does the report demonstrate what was achieved in the current year?
2. Does the report include specific figures to demonstrate what was achieved this year?
3. Are there case studies, testimonials or beneficiary feedback to demonstrate the impact of the organisation on its beneficiaries?
4. Does the report compare this year’s activities to this year’s targets?
5. Does it compare this year’s performance to last year?
6. Does it compare this year’s performance to more than one previous year?
7. Does it discuss future goals?
8. Does it describe any challenges or barriers that the organisation encountered that prevented or constrained the achievement of its goals?
9. Does it detail what its future plans are?
10. Does it detail any actions/measures the organisation plans to take to address any challenges or constraints it faces?

4.       Financial Information (90 points)

1. Is there a clear statement of the sources of income?
2. Are the main expenditure items listed?
3. Is the net position at the end of the year provided?
4. Is the balance brought forward and is the overall financial position stated?
5. Is the previous year’s financial information provided?
6. Is there a consistent story being told throughout the activity report and the financial statements?
7. Is there a discussion of the surplus, breakeven or deficit position and how it was happened? Where an organisation incurs a loss or deficit, is there a clear explanation of how the loss arose and the actions taken or to be taken to address this situation?”

5.       Overall Quality of the Report (20 points)

Please note:

1. For organisations in categories 1 and 2 it is not mandatory to submit financial statements prepared in accordance with Charities SORP.
2. Annual reports which apply FRS 102 Section 1A and/or include abridged accounts will not progress beyond Stage 1 of the judging process and are not eligible for inclusion on the short-list. Non-profits have a particular responsibility to demonstrate their transparency and accountability and only annual reports which include full, unabridged financial statements can be considered for the Good Governance Award.

1.       Transparency (50 points)

1. Is it clear what the organisation’s purpose and mission are?
2. Are the organisation’s key goals or objectives clear?
3. Does it outline the organisation’s origins?
4. Does it describe the organisation’s beneficiaries or service users?
5. Is the organisation’s operating/environmental context described?
6. Is there a Chairperson’s report detailing highlights, challenges and linking past and current reports?

2.       Governance (100 points)

1. Does it outline the organisation’s structure? (unincorporated association/company limited by guarantee/charity/co-op)?
2. Is the role of the Board described?
3. Is the role of Board subcommittees explained?
4. Is the registered office listed?
5. Are the accountants/auditors listed?
6. Are the solicitors listed?
7. Are the bankers listed?
8. Does it list the names of the Board members?
9. Does it name the Chair?
10. Does it name the Secretary?
11. Does it name the Treasurer?
12. Does it detail how Board members are appointed?
13. Does it specify the term limit, tenure or rotation of Board members and officers?
14. Does it provide clear details of its volunteers/employees, how they are recruited and what roles they do?
15. Does it provide clear details of how funds are used?
16. Does it comment on the continuing availability of funding and highlight any risks/challenges to future funding?
17. Does it state that the organisation in compliance with a relevant Governance code e.g. Charities/Sports/Housing Body Governance Code?

3.       Performance & Impact (140 points)

1. Does the report specifically show what was achieved in the current year?
2. Does the report compare this year’s performance against specific goals for this year?
3. Is this performance compared to last year?
4. Does it compare this year’s performance to more than one previous year?
5. Does it discuss future goals?
6. Does it describe any challenges or barriers that the organisation encountered that prevented or constrained the achievement of its goals?
7. Does it detail any actions/measures the organisation plans to take to address any challenges or constraints it faces?
8. Are there case studies, testimonials or beneficiary feedback to demonstrate the impact of the organisation on its beneficiaries?

4.       Financial Statements (90 points)

1. Are the financial statements abridged?
2. Are the financial statements prepared applying “Section 1A” of FRS102?
3. If income exceeds €100k do the financial statements submitted include an audit report?
4. Is there a clear statement of the sources of income?
5. Are the main expenditure items listed?
6. Is the net position at the end of the year provided?
7. Is the balance brought forward and is the overall financial position stated?
8. Is the previous year’s financial information provided?
9. Is there a consistent story being told throughout the activity report and the financial statements?
10. Is there a discussion of the surplus, breakeven or deficit position and how it was happened? Where an organisation incurs a loss or deficit, is there a clear explanation of how the loss arose and the actions taken or to be taken to address this situation?”

5.      Overall Quality of the Report (20 points)

Please note:

1. For organisations in categories 3-7, the application of Charities SORP is considered a minimum requirement.  Financial statements submitted by organisations in these categories which are not prepared in accordance with Charities SORP will not progress beyond Stage 1.
2. Annual reports which apply FRS 102 Section 1A and/or include abridged accounts will not progress beyond Stage 1 of the judging process and are not eligible for inclusion on the short-list. Non-profits have a particular responsibility to demonstrate their transparency and accountability and only annual reports which include full, unabridged financial statements can be considered for the Good Governance Award.
3. In 2022, the format for the judging the shortlisted larger organisations, Categories 6 and 7, will be different from previous years. The judges in these 2 categories will be focusing on two key areas of the annual report: (1) how the organisation has communicated in its annual report the impact it is making for its beneficiaries and (2) how the organisation has addressed the risks facing the organisation.

1.       Transparency (50 points)

1. Is it clear what the organisation’s purpose and mission are?
2. Are the organisation’s key goals or objectives clear?
3. Does it outline the organisation’s values?
4. Is the organisation’s operating/environmental context described?

2.       Governance (110 points)

1. Does it outline the organisation’s structure? (unincorporated association/company limited by guarantee/charity/co-op)?
2. Is the role of the Board described?
3. Is the role of Board subcommittees explained?
4. Does it provide details of board meeting attendance?
5. Does it provide details of board committee/subcommittee attendance?
6. Does it provide a profile of the skills and experience of each Board member?
7. Is the registered office listed?
8. Are the accountants/auditors listed?
9. Are the solicitors listed?
10. Are the bankers listed?
11. Does it name the Chair?
12. Does it name the Company Secretary?
13. Does it name the CEO/Manager?
14. Does it specify the term limit, tenure or rotation of Board members and officers?
15. Does it state that there is conflicts of interests policy in place?
16. Does the report state that this conflicts of interest policy was reviewed by the Board within the last 3 years?
17. Does it provide details of how the organisation engages and communicates with its stakeholders?
18. Is it clear that the CEO is not a member of the board?
19. Is the CEO’s remuneration package disclosed?
20. Are the salary bands of those earning over €65,000 per annum disclosed?
21. Does it detail how Board members are recruited and appointed?
22. Is it clear that induction training is provided to all new Board members?
23. Is there a clear commitment to the ongoing training of Board members?
24. Does it provide details of the organisation’s decision-making process and the delegation and oversight of delegated decision-making powers?
25. Is it clear that the organisation has a risk register and risk management policy in place?
26. Does the report provide an insight into the organisation’s top risks and how they are managed?
27. Does it describe the organisation’s approach to remuneration & performance management?
28. Does it describe the organisation’s approach to investment policy?
29. Does it provide summary profiles of key employees/volunteers?
30. Does it state that the organisation in compliance with a Governance Code?

3.       Strategy, Performance & Impact (200 points)

1. Does the report provide a clear review of the organisation’s strategy implementation performance for the relevant year?
2. Does the report outline how the current year’s performance is linked to the achievement of longer-term/multi-annual goals/targets?
3. Does it describe any challenges or barriers that the organisation encountered that prevented or constrained the achievement of its goals?
4. Does it outline the impact of these challenges on longer-term goals?
5. Does the report specifically show what was achieved in the current year using Key Performance Indicators?
6. Does it compare this year’s performance to more than one previous year?
7. Does it describe its future plans to achieve its strategic goals, taking possible challenges into account?
8. Does it demonstrate the difference/impact in concrete numbers and targets the organisation has made in the year in terms of what it has done or achieved (outcomes) and the difference it has made (impact)?
9. Does it provide measures of outputs, outcomes and impact – e.g. use of case studies and testimonials?

4.       Financial Information (120 points)

1. Are the financial statements abridged?
2. Are the financial statements prepared applying “Section 1A” of FRS102?
3. Do the financial statements submitted include an audit report?
4. Are the financial statements prepared in line with charity SORP?
5. Is there a clear statement of the sources of income?
6. Does it provide commentary analysis or explanatory information on key movements in funding from the previous years?
7. Does it set out planned actions to be taken to improve/ensure sustainability of future funding?
8. Does it comment on continuing availability of funding and highlight any risks/challenges to future funding?
9. Are the main expenditure items listed?
10. Is there a consistent story being told throughout the activity report and the financial statements?
11. Is there a discussion of the surplus, breakeven or deficit position and how it was happened?Where an organisation incurs a loss or deficit, is there a clear explanation of how the loss arose and the actions taken or to be taken to address this situation if needed?
12. Is it clear that there is a reserves policy in place?
13. Does the report specify the minimum reserves target for the organisation?
14. Does the report outline a reasonable and prudent approach to determining this target? (e.g. reserves target is based on 3 months average expenditure)
15. Is there a reserves disclosure note explaining movements in the reserves?
16. Does the report outline a clear plan to address a situation where the organisation is above or below the target minimum reserves?
17. Are the reserves at or very near to the set target?

5.       Overall quality of the report (20 points)