Talk:Meetings/2009-04-26/Agenda/Reserve Policy

The obvious question is: do we need a reserve policy this early on? We currently have no long term commitments, and the company is very young and growing rapidly, so I'm not convinced that there is much benefit at this point. When we start having offices, staff, etc., then that would seem to be the best time to introduce this. Before that, perhaps this is just reflecting the british love of bureaucracy? Mike Peel 06:55, 21 April 2009 (UTC)

I, too, cannot see the benefits of this at this early stage. Our revenues are so little as to cause us to hold a reserve that is near pointless - and would most likely only harm the company rather than benefit us. As we grow there will be a time for this to be introduced, but I don't feel that it is now. --Skenmy 07:02, 21 April 2009 (UTC)

Have you read the Charity Commission guidance I linked to? They recommend all charities have a reserve policy, although small charities can just have something very simple (I consider what I've written to be very simple - it doesn't go into any details about how much we need in reserve for different things, where those reserves will come from, etc.). Regardless of size, it would never be a good idea to let the bank account run dry - the £1000 minimum is intended to be enough to hold an EGM, I think we should always be able to hold an EGM at short notice in case things go horribly wrong (£1000 is probably more than enough for that - I could be persuaded to reduce it to £500 if people want. This is just a proposal, the numbers can be changed.). The obligation not to hold on to too much reserves also applies to charities of all sizes - we can't spend out first few years saving up and not spend anything, while we all know that, it might as well be formalised. I think having a formal reserve policy would look good when the CC reviews everything before deciding whether to give us registered charity status - if we don't have one, they may ask about it and that would just delay things. --Tango 13:12, 21 April 2009 (UTC)