2026 Trustee Week - Day 2: When Everyone Knows, But Nobody Has Written It Down

What happens when an experienced trustee steps down and takes years of organisational knowledge with them? In Day 2 of our Trustees' Week series, we explore how boards can become dependent on knowledge held by individual trustees, why recording decisions isn't always enough, and how succession planning can help preserve valuable experience. Featuring reflections from Jane Rich (The Fore), Kahvan Bryan (Young Trustees Movement) and Kathryn Shepherdson (Hertfordshire Dyslexic Association). A question for your board: If one of your most experienced trustees left tomorrow, what knowledge would leave with them? Visit bancservices.co.uk for practical Trustees' Week resources. Next: When There Isn't One Right Answer — Trustee Judgement in Practice. KEY TAKEAWAY Good governance shouldn't depend on who happens to be around the board table. Preserving the reasoning behind decisions, sharing knowledge and planning for trustee departures help boards maintain continuity as people come and go.. BEST MOMENTS "How much of your board's effectiveness depends on particular people remaining around the table?" "They may well have access to the papers and understand the decisions that were made, but they weren't part of those discussions." "If one of your most experienced trustees stepped down tomorrow, what knowledge would leave the board with them?" TRUSTEE FINANCE BRIEF If you're a trustee or charity leader who would like more practical prompts to help you engage with charity finances and ask useful questions around the board table, you can join my Trustee Finance Brief. Sign up to receive practical, plain-English finance and governance insights designed to support better board-level conversations. ABOUT YOUR HOST Aishat is a charity finance professional with over 25 years' experience in the nonprofit sector and founder of BAnC Service , a practice supporting charities and nonprofits with financial management, reporting, governance and strategic financial advice. Through The Nonprofit Bookkeeper, she helps charity leaders, trustees and finance professionals make sense of financial information, ask better questions and make informed decisions, while recognising the people and work behind the numbers. She is also the author of Charity Finance from A to Z , a practical guide to making charity finance more accessible. Work with Aishat: www.bancservices.co.uk CONNECT Instagram TikTok