Poor governance and basic failures in trusteeship featured in some 85 per cent of investigations closed by the Charity Commission in the last year.

Breaches of governing document, unmanaged conflicts of interest and concerns about fundraising governance were among the governance issues highlighted in 73 out of the 85 investigations closed by the Commission in 2011/12. Poor governance or trusteeship also featured in 597 of 1,374 cases assessed by the Commission that did not require further investigation.

Releasing its Charities Back on Track report for 2011/12, which provides lessons learnt from its assessments and investigations, the Charity Commission pointed to its website as a resource for trustees. Michelle Russell, head of investigation and enforcement, said:

"I would urge all trustees to ensure they regularly remind themselves of the basic duties and core requirements set out in the guidance, including the Essential Trustee (CC3) and Hallmarks of an Effective Charity (CC10). These tools explain what the law expects of trustees and what steps trustees can take to make sure they are fulfilling their legal duties."

Fraud was another key issue highlighted in the report, having featured in 18 of the investigations, one third of serious incident reports (364 of 1,027) and half of all whistleblowing reports (56 of 121) to the Commission. And 26 of the 85 investigations related to accounting issues.

Nearly half (44 per cent) of investigations carried out by the Commission were into charities with incomes of less that £25,000, while 7 per cent of investigations looked at charities with incomes over £1m. This relates closely to the percentage of UK charities in each income bracket, with 58 per cent of all UK charities holding an income under £25,000 and 4 per cent receiving more than £1m.