Event details: Wednesday, 28 Oct 2015, Social Service Institute (SSI), Training Hub, Level 4

The 2nd Town Hall event was organised by Charities Council on the 28th October 2015 as a platform for stakeholders in the community to discuss the state Singapore’s welfare sector from the financial perspective. This is build up of the previous town hall, held on 17th March 2015. The town hall was co-organised by Centre for Social Development Asia (CSDA) supported by National Council of Social Services (NCSS), Social Services Institute (SSI), as well as the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) and partially sponsored by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).

The town hall was attended by 78 Executive Directors/Chief Executives and Chief Financial Officers or equivalent from all 8 sub-sector of the charities sector: Arts and Heritage, Community, Education, Health, Religious, Social and Welfare, Sports, and Others. 54 invited guests and representatives from supporting partner organizations were also present to grace the occasion.

The town hall meeting provides an avenue for a panel of experts to share their personal experiences in the management of their charities with the senior management teams from various charity organisations in Singapore. Financial administration in charities requires great leadership and strong management to manage the complex process with integrity and effectiveness.

Several key topics were explored, with practical solutions offered so that participants could gain a glimpse into how key challenges in financial administration could be addressed. Challenges include finding qualified staff, ensuring proper financial processes and maintaining financial sustainability, particularly for the small and medium organisations. The discussions were surrounded around Mr Ee’s main message – doing good well and right.

Speakers/Panelists:

Mr Gerard Ee
Chairman, Charity Council

Mr Tony Manwaring
Executive Director of External Affairs, Chartered Institute of Management Accountant (CIMA)

Dr Isabel Sim
Director (Projects), Centre for Social Development Asia & Senior Research Fellow, Department of Social Work, Faculty of Arts & Social Science, National University of Singapore

Mr Tim Oei
CEO, AWWA Ltd

Mr David Fong
COO, Singapore Cancer Society

Ms Catherine Loh
CEO, Community Foundation of Singapore

For more resources on the Town Hall Meeting II, please refer to the following:

• CSDA Presentation Slides
• CSDA Research Report

Event details: Tuesday, 24 February 2016, 10am to 2pm, SGX Auditorium

The Town Hall Meeting series provides a platform for Board and Senior Management of charities to discuss and explore practical solutions to address common challenges faced by the sector.

This Town Hall was co-organized by the Charity Council and the Centre of Social Development Asia (CSDA), National University of Singapore. It was supported by the National Council of Social Services (NCSS), and the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA). And was partially sponsored by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).

Some 180 participants from the charity sector and invited guests attended the event.

The third town hall was organised to provide an avenue for a panel of experts to discuss the leading financial administration practices of their charities. The Meeting continued the conversation on the best practices for financial accountability for charities in Singapore with a focus on disclosure and accountability and reporting for charities’ annual reports. The programme included sharing by an international expert on Integrated Reporting – an international trend on concise reporting to stakeholders. It also included insights from local charities as well as a panel discussion. Beyond statutory requirements, charities’ annual reports serve as an important communication tool to engage stakeholders. This Town Hall provided a platform to discuss and explore practical solutions that address key challenges in producing good annual reports.

Speakers/Panelists:

Mr Gerard Ee
Chairman, Charity Council

Mr Venkkat Ramanan
Head of Strategic Business, Chartered Institute of Management Accountants

Dr K Thomas Abraham
CEO, SATA CommHealth

Dr Esther Goh
Head, Department of Social Work, National University of Singapore

Mr Ang Hao Yao
Chairman, SATA CommHealth

Mr Edmund Song
Executive Director, RSVP Singapore

Mr John Lim
Immediate Past Chairman, Singapore Institute of Directors

Ms Esther An
Chief Sustainability Officer, City Developments Limited

Ms Quek Boon Kien
Director of Funding and Corporate Functions Group, National Council of Social Service

For more resources on the Town Hall Meeting III, please refer to the following:

• Programme Outline and Information on the Speakers
• Slides for Integrated Reporting and Charity Sector by Mr Venkkat Ramanan, Head of Strategic Business, CIMA
• Slides for Production of Annual Report by Dr K Thomas Abraham, CEO, SATA CommHealth
• Video recording of the event
• More information from the Charity Council website

Event details: Wednesday, 2 November 2016, Ulu Pandan Community Club, Theatrette, Level 5

The fourth Town Hall event was jointly organised by the Charity Council and the Centre for Social Development Asia (CSDA), Department of Social Work, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, NUS on the 2 November 2016. The theme for the fourth town hall was “Fundraising Landscape in Singapore for Charities”. It was supported by National Council of Social Services (NCSS), the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) and was partially sponsored by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).

The town hall was attended by senior management, Board members and fundraising professionals in the charity sector. 90 invited guests and representatives from supporting partner organisations also attended the event.

The meeting provided a platform for stakeholders to discuss about charities’ fundraising practices – successes, challenges and future. Findings on Exploratory Studies on Fundraising Practices in Singapore was presented. This was followed by a panel discussion by fundraising experts and industry leaders. Key topics covered include manpower and training for fundraising, fundraising methods, donor engagement, as well as accountability, compliance and disclosure.

Speakers/Panelists:

Mr Gerard Ee
Chairman, Charity Council

Mr Tony Manwaring
Executive Vice President of External Affairs, Chartered Institute of Management Accountant (CIMA)

Dr Isabel Sim
Director (Projects), Centre for Social Development Asia & Senior Research Fellow, Department of Social Work, Faculty of Arts & Social Science, National University of Singapore

Ms Ng Ling Ling
Assistant CEO, National Council of Social Service; Group Director, Fundraising & Engagement; Managing Director, Community Chest

Mr Edmund Wan Fook Wing
President, Handicaps Welfare Association (HWA)

Ms Schutz Lee
Board Member, Treasurer and Co-Chairman of Fundraising Committee, Society for Wings

For more resources on the Town Hall Meeting IV, please refer to the following:

• Programme Outline and Information on the Speakers
• CSDA Presentation Slides
• CSDA research report - ”Exploratory Studies on Fundraising Practices- Based on Singapore’s Institutions of a Public Character (IPCs) in the Health, Social and Welfare Sectors”
• More information from the Charity Council website

Event details: Wednesday, 17 May 2017, Lifelong Learning Institute, Lecture Theatre, Level 2

The fifth Town Hall meeting was jointly organized by the Charity Council, Centre for Social Development Asia (CSDA), Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), on 17 May 2017. It was supported by the National Council of Social Services (NCSS). The theme for the fifth Town Hall was “Accounting for Good”.

The Town Hall meeting was attended by a total of 137 participants from Charities and 34 VIP Guests. 33 invited guests and representatives from supporting partner organizations also attended the event.

The meeting provided an avenue for various stakeholders to discuss about what Accountants can do to help Charities become better, and how Charities would benefit from Accountants' help. It was also a platform for Charities to air their concerns and network with Accountants, bridging the gap between the two. There were six booths, of which four were accounting booths that were set up for the Charities and Accountants to network with one another.

This was followed by a panel discussion by key leaders from different charity organizations. Key topics covered include the role of Accountants in Charities, challenges that Charities face in engaging Accountants, how the management of Charities can help them in overcoming challenges, ways Charities can reach out to Volunteer Accountants and challenges that Volunteer Accountants face in engaging with Charities.

Speakers/Panelists:

Mr Gerard Ee
Chairman, Charity Council

Mr Kon Yin Tong
Vice President, Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA)

Prof Teo Chee Khiang
Professor (Practice), Department of Accounting, NUS Business School

Mr Tay Woon Teck
Partner, RSM

Ms Lilian Tay
Former CEO, Shared Services for Charities

Ms Choo Shiu Ling
CEO, Assisi Hospice

Mr Alfred Tan
CEO, Singapore Children’s Society

Ms Winifred Loh
Director, Centre for Non Profit Leadership (CNPL)

Dr Ian Selby
Vice President, Research and Development, Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)

For more resources on the Town Hall Meeting V, please refer to the following:

• Programme Outline and Information on the Speakers
• 'Accounting for Good' book
• Slides presented by Prof Teo Chee Khiang on the Accounting for Good Book
• More information from the Charity Council website

Event details: Wednesday, 8 November 2017, Lifelong Learning Institute, Lecture Theatre, Level 2

The sixth Town Hall meeting was jointly organized by the Charity Council, Centre for Social Development Asia (CSDA), and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), on 8 November 2017. The theme for the sixth Town Hall was “Charity Governance in Singapore”.

The Town Hall meeting was attended by a total of 165 participants from Charities and VIP Guests. 31 invited guests and representatives from supporting partner organizations also attended the event.

The meeting provided an avenue for various stakeholders to discuss about charity governance. A sharing on the research findings from the 3 booklets from the 'Charity in Governance in Singapore' series. The first booklet provides an overview as well as the development of charity governance. The second booklet is a qualitative research on how charities implement the Singapore’s Code of Governance for Charities and IPCs, and the challenges they face. The third booklet is an exploratory quantitative study on the disclosure of Board and governance practices of IPCs in Health, and Social and Welfare sectors. The findings from these exploratory studies will hopefully be useful to stakeholders in the social service sector.

This was followed by a panel discussion by key leaders from different charity organizations. Key topics covered include the need for transparency and disclosure from charities, building trust and relationship between the Board and the Executive Director through face-to-face board meetings, board renewal and succession planning, as well as sourcing for potential Board members.

Speakers/Panelists:

Mr Gerard Ee
Chairman, Charity Council

Dr Isabel Sim
Director (Projects), Centre for Social Development Asia & Senior Research Fellow, Department of Social Work, Faculty of Arts & Social Science, National University of Singapore

Ms Christine Wong
Executive Director, Samaritans of Singapore

Dr William Wan
Chairman, Prison Fellowship Singapore

Mr Yap Wai Ming
Board Member, Ren Ci Hospital

Dr Noel Tagoe
Executive Vice President - Academics, Association of Certified International Professional Accountants

For more resources on the Town Hall Meeting VI, please refer to the following:

• Booklet 1 - An Overview of Charity Governance in Singapore.
• Booklet 2 - Charity Governance in Singapore: Insights from Focus Group Discussions. 
• Booklet 3 - Disclosure of Board and Management Matters: An Exploratory Study on Charity Governance in Singapore.
• More information from the Charity Council website