The Company as an Institution of a Public Character (IPC) is committed to good governance and management practices as it seeks to comply with Charity and IPC regulations and Code of Governance for Charities and Institutions of a Public Character (Code). The Company has complied with the relevant guidelines as stipulated in the Code. The Company will submit the online Governance Evaluation Checklist together with the audited accounts and annual report for the year. The annual submissions are available for viewing in the Charity Portal at www.charities.gov.sg.
1. Nomination and Appointment of Board of Directors
The Nomination Committee shall review the composition of the Board to ensure that the Board has an appropriate balance of independent Board members with appropriate expertise, skills, attributes, diversity and ability; to identify and nominate potential board member candidates to be elected as members of the board. The Board conducts selfevaluation to assess its performance and effectiveness.
The Board of the Company shall have at least ten (10) Directors and such other number as the Board may determine from time to time. Majority of the Board shall be Singapore Citizens, and at least half of the Board shall be independent directors. So far as the Company is an Institution of Public Character, at least half of the Board shall also be independent, as defined by the Charities (Institutions of a Public Character) Regulations. The Board of Directors need to be adequately represented from the various sections of the Chinese community in Singapore, in meeting the objectives of the Company.
A director shall serve a term of three (3) years. All directors, except the Honorary Treasurer, may be re-elected to the same or related post upon the expiry of each term of office, provided that the Chairman shall not hold his office for more than three (3) consecutive terms. None of the directors served for more than 10 years.
All the directors are volunteers and receive no remuneration from the Company.
2. The Governing Board
The Board’s role is to provide strategic direction and oversight of Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre’s programmes and objectives and to steer the charity towards fulfilling its vision and mission through good governance. The SCCC’s Board of Directors has collective responsibility for the following:
- provide advice on strategic directions;
- ensure that the necessary resources are in place for SCCC to meet its objectives;
- establish a framework of prudent and effective controls which enables risks to be assessed and managed;
- establish a corporate governance framework that ensures optimal use of public and donated funds provided to SCCC; and
- review Management’s overall performance.
3. Board Meetings
The Board meets quarterly during the year and has met on the following dates:
20 Apr 2022 / 15 Jul 2022 / 22 Sep 2022 / 28 Oct 2022 / 20 Jan 2023
Current Board Members
| Name | No. of meetings attended (5) | Appointed as at | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ng Siew Quan (Chairman, 1 Oct 2022) * | 5/5 | 18 Jul 2013 |
| 2 | Tan Cheng Gay (Honorary Treasurer, 1 Oct 2022) | 4/5 | 1 May 2015 |
| 3 | Alvin Tan Tze Ee | 5/5 | 1 Oct 2016 |
| 4 | Daniel Chan Choon Seng | 4/5 | 1 Oct 2019 |
| 5 | Shaun Goh Shiao Sing | 4/5 | 1 Oct 2019 |
| 6 | William Leong Sin Yuen | 4/5 | 1 Oct 2019 |
| 7 | Pang Lim | 4/5 | 1 Oct 2019 |
| 8 | Tham Loke Kheng | 4/5 | 1 Oct 2019 |
| 9 | Joy Tan Whei Mien | 4/5 | 7 Nov 2019 |
| 10 | Goh Sin Teck | 2/2 | 1 Oct 2022 |
| 11 | Low Eng Teong | 2/2 | 1 Oct 2022 |
| 12 | Lim Hock Chee | 1/2 | 1 Oct 2022 |
| 13 | Zhou Zhaocheng | 2/2 | 1 Oct 2022 |
| 14 | Heng Boey Hong | 2/2 | 14 Oct 2022 |
| 15 | Jimmy Toh Yong Leng | 1/1 | 1 Jan 2023 |
*Past Charity Board Appointments – Honorary Treasurer 1 Oct 2019
4. Volunteer Management
The Company has established a volunteer handbook, to give an overview of SCCC’s volunteer management policies and procedures such as volunteering opportunities, code of conduct, volunteer recruitment, benefits and recognition, and learning and development. SCCC aims to create meaningful and enriching volunteering experiences for our volunteers.
5. Conflicts of interest
The Company has established a policy for Conflict of Interest and Declaration to ensure that members act in the best interest of the Company.
“Member’’ refers to a board member or management or staff or volunteer of the Company.
The declarations of interest are updated in written form annually and whenever any change occurs.
Whenever a Member or a person connected with a Member1 has a personal interest in a matter to be discussed in a meeting, the Member or connected person must:
- Declare an interest before the discussion on the matter begins;
- Withdraw from the meeting for that item and not participate in the discussions;
- Not be counted in the quorum during that part of the meeting; and
- Withdraw during the vote and have no vote on the matter.
1 A person is connected with a Member if that person is a child, sibling, parent, spouse, spouse’s parent, spouse’s sibling, grandparent or grandchild of such Member.
The discussion and final decisions on the matter should be documented in the minutes of the meeting.
6. Whistleblowing Policy
The Whistleblowing Policy aims to provide an avenue for SCCC directors, employees and external parties to bring to attention of the Audit and Risk Committee, any misdeed, impropriety committed by directors and employees, and offer reassurance that they will be protected from reprisals or victimisation for whistleblowing in good faith.
7. Privacy Policy
The Company is committed in safeguarding the personal data and to treat, manage, protect and process personal data properly and professionally.
8. Disclosure and Transparency
The annual report is prepared to include information on its programmes, financial position, governance, board, and management.
Audited financial statements are available on SCCC’s website and information on SCCC’s financial position can also be found on the Commissioner of Charities website.
The annual remuneration of the Company’s three highest-paid employees are disclosed in bands of $100,000 as follows:
| Remuneration Band | 31 March 2023 | 31 March 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| $200,001 to $300,000 | 2 | 1 |
| $100,000 to $200,000 | 1 | 2 |
There is no paid staff who is a close member of the CEO or Board members receiving more than $50,000 during the financial year.
No staff is involved in setting his own remuneration.
The Company did not make any loan to any third parties.
Governance Evaluation Checklist (GEC)
Advanced Tier
| Code Guideline | Code ID | Response | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Induction and orientation are provided to incoming Board members on joining the Board. | 1.1.2 | Complied |
| Are there Board members holding staff* appointments? | No | ||
| 2 | Staff* does not chair the Board and does not comprise more than one-third of the Board. | 1.1.3 | NA |
| 3 | There are written job descriptions for their executive functions and operational duties which are distinct from their Board roles. | 1.1.5 | NA |
| 4 | There is a maximum limit of four consecutive years for the Treasurer position (or equivalent, e.g Finance Committee Chairman or person on Board responsible for overseeing the finances of the charity). Should the charity not have an appointed Board member, it will be taken that the Chairman oversees the finances. | 1.1.7 | Complied |
| 5 | All Board members submit themselves for re-nomination and re-appointment, at least once every three years. | 1.1.8 | Complied |
| 6 | The Board conducts self-evaluation to assess its performance and effectiveness once during its term or every 3 years, whichever is shorter. | 1.1.12 | Complied |
| Are there Board member(s) who have served for more than 10 consecutive years? | No | ||
| 7 | The charity discloses in its annual report the reasons for retaining Board member(s) who has served for more than 10 consecutive years. | 1.1.13 | NA |
| 8 | There are documented terms of reference for the Board and each of its Board committees. | 1.2.1 | Complied |
| 9 | There are documented procedures for Board members and staff to declare actual or potential conflicts of interest to the Board. | 2.1 | Complied |
| 10 | Board members do not vote or participate in decisionmaking on matters where they have a conflict of interest. | 2.4 | Complied |
| 11 | The Board periodically reviews and approves the strategic plan for the charity to ensure that the activities are in line with its objectives. | 3.2.2 | Complied |
| 12 | There is a documented plan to develop the capacity and capability of the charity and the Board monitors the progress of the plan. | 3.2.4 | Complied |
| 13 | The Board approves documented human resource policies for staff. | 5.1 | Complied |
| 14 | There is a documented Code of Conduct for Board members, staff* and volunteers* (where applicable) which is approved by the Board. | 5.3 | Complied |
| 15 | There are processes for regular supervision, appraisal and professional development of staff*. | 5.5 | Complied |
| Are there volunteers* serving in the charity? | Yes | ||
| 16 | There are volunteers* management policies in place for volunteers*. | 5.7 | Complied |
| 17 | There is a documented policy to seek Board’s approval for any loans, donations, grants or financial assistance provided by the charity which are not part of its core charitable programmes. | 6.1.1 | Complied |
| 18 | The Board ensures internal controls for financial matters in key areas are in place with documented procedures. | 6.1.2 | Complied |
| 19 | The Board ensures reviews on the charity’s internal controls, processes, key programmes and events are regularly conducted. | 6.1.3 | Complied |
| 20 | The Board ensures that there is a process to identify, regularly monitor and review the charity’s key risks. | 6.1.4 | Complied |
| 21 | The Board approves an annual budget for the charity’s plans and regularly monitors its expenditure. | 6.2.1 | Complied |
| Does the charity invest its reserves, including fixed deposits? | Yes | ||
| 22 | The charity has a documented investment policy approved by the Board. | 6.4.3 | Complied |
| Did the charity receive cash donations (solicited or unsolicited) during the year? | Yes | ||
| 23 | All collections received (solicited or unsolicited) are properly accounted for and promptly deposited by the charity. | 7.2.2 | Complied |
| Did the charity receive donations-in-kind during the year? | No | ||
| 24 | All donations-in-kind received are properly recorded and accounted for by the charity. | 7.2.3 | NA |
| 25 | The charity discloses in its annual report: i. Number of Board meetings in the year; and ii. Individual Board member’s attendance. | 8.2 | Complied |
| Are Board members remunerated for their Board services? | No | ||
| 26 | No Board member is involved in setting his or her own remuneration. | 2.2 | NA |
| 27 | The charity discloses the exact remuneration and benefits received by each Board member in its annual report. OR The charity discloses that no Board members are remunerated | 8.3 | NA |
| Does the charity employ paid staff? | Yes | ||
| 28 | No staff is involved in setting his or her own remuneration. | 2.2 | Complied |
| 29 | The charity discloses in its annual report: i) The total annual remuneration (including any remuneration received in its subsidiaries), for each its three highest paid staff, who each receives remuneration exceeding $100,000, in bands of $100,000; and ii) If any of the 3 highest paid staff also serves on the Board of the charity. The information relating to the remuneration of the staff must be presented in bands of $100,000. OR The charity discloses that none of its staff* receives more than $100,000 in annual remuneration each | 8.4 | Complied |
| 30 | The charity discloses the number of paid staff* who are close members of the family* of the Executive Head or Board Members, who each receives remuneration exceeding $50,000 during the year, in bands of $100,000. OR The charity discloses that there is no paid staff* who are close members of the family* of the Executive Head or Board Member, who receives more than $50,000 during the year. | 8.5 | Complied |
| 31 | The charity has a documented communication policy on the release of information about the charity and its activities across all media platforms. | 9.2 | Complied |