BASA workshop highlighted NPO duties

Etienne Swanepoel, partner and Adam Pike, senior associate, took representatives of Western Cape arts organisations through different aspects of corporate governance as they relate to board and board director's roles in non-profit organisations. In addition, King III's relationship to governance rules in the Companies Act was also outlined.

Among the participants in the BASA Webber Wentzel workshop was Bonita Bennett, director of Cape Town's District Six Museum. For Bennett, the impact of the workshop was significant.

"As organisations of civil society, our ability to function efficiently in an increasingly more complex world depends on our ability to keep abreast of changes in the regulatory environment that impact on us," she said.

Very detailed legislation

Bennett confirmed that the recent BASA workshop made for an opportunity to make sense of a very detailed legislation "with the most relevant aspects clearly foregrounded and contextualised".

Co-presenter of the workshop, Adam Pike, a former actor, brought his experience in the arts and legal field together for the workshop. Pike focused on the Companies Act, making the point that the act in fact stipulates the same duties and liabilities for both for-profit and not-for-profit companies and organisations.

"It is a basic premise that is quite frequently misunderstood by arts organisations and so we spend some time outlining the basic procedures and criteria that need to be met by arts organisation boards and their directors," Pike said.

Awareness and knowledge are key factors

For Pike, awareness and knowledge are the key factors for arts organisations. "With funding becoming so competitive, it is imperative that arts organisations operate in a robust fashion that meets all the requirements of key pieces of legislation like the Companies Act and the Income Tax Act, and of course, King III."

In addition, Pike said that it is important that arts organisation understand the flexibility of King III. "King III allows for variation depending on the size of the organisation," and the workshops also touched on this valuable knowledge.

BASA Mentorship Programme

The BASA workshop was facilitated as part of the BASA Mentorship Programme, supported by Etana - one of two BASA (the other is the BASA Boardbank) volunteerism-based programmes that are focused on giving South African arts organisations increased skills and knowledge at an operational, strategic and governance level. Webber Wentzel's Etienne Swanepoel is currently a mentor within the BASA Mentorship Programme, supported by Etana.

For participants, there was another crucial aspect to the workshops.

"A pleasing spin-off is always the opportunity to network with colleagues involved in arts-based organisations," added District Six Museum's Bennett.

For more information on opportunities with BASA, go to www.basa.co.za.