Finance and Governance

News

Charities Act 2006

The Office of the Third Sector and Charity Commission have jointly produced a plain English guide to the Charities Act 2006, aimed primarily at charities with an income below £500,000. It explains the main provisions of the Act, and where you can go for further information or guidance on specific provisions. The web-version of the guide will be updated as various provisions of the Act are commenced, or new guidance published.

Charities Act 2006: what trustees need to know

2006 NUS-Unipol Accommodation Costs Survey

NUS, in partnership with the housing charity Unipol, launched its new Accommodation Costs Survey in 2006. The NUS Accommodation Costs Survey aims at defining accommodation costs for students in the UK, and other related information such as deposit levels and length of tenancy. It is a key NUS piece of research, well respected and known in the education sector. The survey covers: institutional accommodation, and private halls of residences. You will find a detailed breakdown of rents by university and private providers, as well as regional averages for the academic year 2006/07.

Dave’s Favourite Links

NUS is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites.

1. Students’ Union Evaluation Initiatives (SUEI) - The Students' Union Evaluation Initiative is an assessment model that assists in improving the services and activities delivered to members of the Union by indicating areas for continuous improvement.

2. Governance Hub - The Governance Hub is a collaborative body that provides support for good governance in the voluntary and community sector in England. Our vision is for a future in which all voluntary and community organisations are better able to fulfil their missions and play a positive role in society through good governance practice..

3. Association for Managers in Students’ Union (AMSU) - AMSU’s mission is to enhance the management of students' unions. AMSU work closely staff members in students' unions but, also understand that elected officers are just as involved as staff in the management of students' unions and encourage elected officers to sign up to our website and take advantage of a range of services and information.

Why not send your website suggestions to us? E-mail your favourite finance and governance related websites to us.

Subscriber Watch

The Finance and Governance Network boasts 199 members who are discussing a wide range of issues ranging from commercial operations to governance reviews. The network can only continue to be a success if you use it to ask questions, share resources and links and to network with your colleagues. So go on, get networking!

Resources

NUS produces and maintains a variety of key finance and governance resources for union officers and staff. They can be accessed from this page at the links below. E-mail the networks team if you have any resources which you would like to share with your colleagues.

NUS Strategic Conversation

On the 19th January 2006 NUS held the ‘Strategic Conversation’ in Leicester on the future of NUS. This event was held to update of members on the finances of the organisation. .You can still access the presentations made on the day here!

Action on Finance and Governance Summer Training Event

This events aim was to introduce officers to their role within students’ union’s financial and commercial operations. It provided the skills and knowledge to enable officers to interpret and question key financial data and make effective and informed decisions. Officers with lead responsibility for commercial services and legal issues surrounding the provision of commercial services will find the course overview and resources from this event very useful.Check it out here!

Governance

Good Governance - In this article John Tench offers an introduction to the standard; what it is, how it was developed, what the key principles involved are.

Governance and Charity Law - NUS has worked closely with the Charity Commission, external legal advisors BWB and AMSU to produce guidelines, models and recommendations for good practice to assist students’ unions in preparing for and dealing with the changes.

Finance

Student Finance 2006 - The following applies to ‘home’ students domiciled in England, and studying at an English HE institution (HEI).

Good money management - Key questions to ask when analysing financial information.

Sabbatical Finance Pack - The Welfare Unit at NUS has compiled a guide to the four most common tax issues that affect you as a sabbatical – Income Tax, National Insurance, Tax Credits and Council Tax. This discusses how they affect you and what you can do to make sure you don’t lose out, plus a note explaining the situation regarding student loans and bankruptcy.

Block Grant Guide - This briefing has been prepared to assist students' union officers in obtaining a block grant for their students' union. This is a step by step system covering: the nature of students’ union funding in the further education (FE) sector, how a block grant system works, the arguments for a block grant system, putting together a submission, negotiation with college managers and presenting the submission to the corporation

Sponsorship

Sponsorship - Before doing anything, think about what you can offer a company.

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