Key Accountant Exits from Dartington Trust

A key specialist accountancy board member at Dartington Hall Trust has stepped down, a further departure from its trustee ranks as the charity grapples with difficult decisions ahead of a planned uplift in its fortunes.

Chris Maw – who became a trustee in December 2019 – quit as on Friday (14th March), according to documents filed with the government’s Companies House.

With an accountancy background, Maw has won high regard among people associated with the trust as it has struggled with a turbulent period over the past two years.
A former partner at the PWC accountancy group, Maw has been the longest-serving trustee at Dartington, and was relied on by its chair Lord David Triesman and other trustees for his financial acumen. Maw’s insights have been especially useful during difficulties caused by the exit of most of Dartington’s financial staff as the organisation pushed through big reductions in employees in an effort to lower costs.

It is thought Maw was keen to stay on during a lengthy spell in which it struggled to file its most recent accounts, with the delay blamed by different people on reasons including the internal upheavals and deficiencies in accounting software.

The accounts for the year to the end of August 2023 were eventually published last month, almost eight months late according to the schedule set out by the Charity Commission, the government regulator. The document said the trust continued to run a large deficit, showing a loss of £4.69m, little changed from the £4.64m shortfall in 2021/22.
Maw’s exit brings the number of trustees to just four, a much lower number than the charity has usually had in recent decades. When Triesman took over as chair in March 2023 he had working with him, eight other trustees, of whom six have now left, with a single new trustee – Baroness Amanda Sater, a Conservative peer, property expert and tennis enthusiast – appointed less than a year ago.

The other two trustees who are continuing are Rachel Watson, who has a background with the Riverford organic farming company, and Peter Goldsbrough, a former managing director at the Boston Consulting Group consultancy. Both joined in 2020. Triesman is also a trustee but has been constrained by a lengthy illness.

Last October, Triesman said he was aware the number of trustees had fallen from historical levels and he was “actively working to do a bit of rebuilding”. The job of trustees is to provide a long-term strategy for their organisaton and to advise on other key points. Dartington trustees normally have a three-year tenure though that can be extended

The trust said: “Chris indicated before the end of 2023 that he would step down at a convenient point, having already by then served more than a normal three year term. We are very grateful that he stayed longer to work closely with the turnaround team, particularly in securing the most recent financial support, after which the 2022-3 accounts were finally filed. Chris’s   contribution and insight have been extremely valuable. DHT is always mindful of appropriate trustee numbers and what new trustees might bring to the table.”

(updated 17th March with Dartington response)