The Committee Room

Kate Hartwig and Kate McPhee
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Practical governance for volunteer committees and not-for-profit organisations. Hosted by governance consultants Kate Hartwig and Kate McPhee, each episode tackles one topic — clearly, honestly, and without the jargon. Short enough to finish before your coffee goes cold.

  1. 3d ago

    Ep 25 Planning your Numbers

    The Treasurer opens last year's budget, adds a little CPI to every line, and the committee approves it. It looks sensible. But nobody has actually budgeted for the year ahead — they've given last year's story a pay rise. In the final episode of the Financial Confidence series (for now), Kate Hartwig and Kate McPhee show how to build a budget that connects to what your organisation is planning to do, see the tight months coming, and plan for the big bills before they arrive. In this episode: The zombie budget, and why CPI is good at increasing numbers but not at planningWhy budgeting is a job for the whole committee — and the three questions to ask firstThe finance subcommittee, and when the budget conversation needs to startHistoric and zero-based budgeting, and when to use eachEstimating expenses high and income lowWhy “we budget to break even” is a slow way to go broke — and how to plan a surplus on purposeCash flow budgeting, because the timing matters as much as the totalThe Assets Register, sinking funds and asset management plansFinance leases, operating leases and what belongs on the registerComparing budget and actual figures every monthFree Assets Register template from the Committee Companion. Full show notes and free download at thecommitteeroom.com.au

    Ep 25 Planning your Numbers

  2. Oct 12

    Ep 24 Reading the Numbers

    Once upon a time, there was a committee that thought their finances were fine and dandy. The Treasurer read the numbers aloud. The surplus was healthy. Everyone nodded. Nobody looked at the Balance Sheet. Nobody noticed that current liabilities had been greater than current assets for three months in a row. The story the numbers were telling was right there — written in plain figures on every report. Nobody knew how to read it. In this Storybook Edition of The Committee Room, Kate H and Kate M take you through the three financial chapters that land on your committee table every month. In this episode: Cash vs accrual accounting — which edition of the book you're reading (with a mnemonic involving spotty dogs)Chapter 1: the Balance Sheet — the Foundations of the Kingdom. What the organisation owns, what it owes, and what it's worth on one dayThe four questions to ask every month — and why Question 3 is the one to underlineThe Balance Sheet heroes and villains — including the wolf in grandma's nightclothesChapter 2: the Profit and Loss — the Chronicle of the Year — and the sneakiest villain of all: the poisoned appleChapter 3: the Cash Flow Report — the Royal Coffers — and why a beautiful P&L can still hide a crisisWhat a happy ending actually looks like — and why woolly answers are a red flag in their own right Free Financial Reports Checklist in the show notes. Full show notes and free download at thecommitteeroom.com.au

  3. Oct 5

    23 Who Minds the Money?

    Sam got backed into a corner and reluctantly said yes to being Treasurer, and everyone else at the table breathed a sigh of relief. The finances are in Sam's hands now. Except — that's not quite how it works. Every single committee member shares the same responsibility for the members' money. Nobody needs to be an accountant. But nobody gets to opt out either. In the first episode of the Financial Confidence series, Kate H and Kate M cover the financial side of governance from the ground up. In this episode: The myth of 'not-for-profit means no surplus' — why it's wrong and what it actually costs organisationsWhy 'we budget to break even' is just budgeting to fail — and why three months of operating costs in reserve is the minimumEvery committee member is financially responsible — and approving a report you haven't read is not a defenceThe Treasurer's actual job: oversight, not bookkeeping — and the difference between a bookkeeper and an accountantThe no-one-person rule and what to do when you don't have either a bookkeeper or an accountantThe best Treasurer Kate 1 ever worked with and whyThe five governance structures that protect the organisation's money — and where to start if you don't have most of themFree Treasurer's Role Description Card in the show notes. Full show notes and free download at thecommitteeroom.com.au

  4. Sep 28

    Ep 22 Special Guest Interview

    Natural justice and procedural fairness sound like they belong in a courtroom. They show up in community clubs and volunteer organisations more often than most committees realise — and the obligation to follow them applies whether your Constitution mentions them or not. Ignorance is not a defence. In this special episode, Kate H and Kate M welcome their very first guest: recently retired South Australian Magistrate Maria, 23 years on the bench. She joins them for a plain-English conversation about what natural justice actually requires of committees — and what happens when they get it wrong. In this episode: What natural justice is — and why the process, not the outcome, determines whether you've done it rightThe two non-negotiable requirements: the person must know what they're accused of, and they must have a genuine opportunity to respondImpartiality in small organisations where everyone knows everyone — and what to do when there's nobody left who isn't conflictedWhen a matter is serious enough to call the police — and why you should never try to investigate criminal conduct yourselfRecord keeping as a natural justice tool — and whether formal hearings should be recordedCan you have a do-over? Yes — but the process for getting there must be correctWhen the organisation must get involved in a member dispute — and when it's entitled to say this is a personal matterThe one thing Maria wishes every committee member understood: you're not there to run your personal fiefdomShow notes at thecommitteeroom.com.au

  5. Sep 21

    Ep 21 Compliance Basics

    It's an ordinary committee meeting. Nothing about compliance on the agenda. Then the secretary goes looking for the public liability certificate of currency — and the policy lapsed four months ago. And then someone remembers Dave, coaching the Under 12s since March, was due for a new Working With Children Check when his expired in April. Nobody followed that up either. Two essential obligations, quietly unmet for months. The club only found out because someone outside the club happened to ask. Compliance doesn't have to be complicated. It just has to be tracked. In this episode of the Documents Done Right series, Kate H and Kate M cover what you have to do, to whom, and by when — and the two tools that make staying on the right side of the law manageable for any volunteer committee. In this episode: What compliance actually is — and why it's a stress reliever, not a burdenThe Compliance Register: your master list of obligations built around what you are and what you doThe categories most committees overlook — fundraising, screening checks, events, staff, premises, privacy and photographsWhere to get reliable advice on what applies to your organisation — not a guess, not a google, your peak bodyThe Committee Calendar: the 'when' to the Register's 'what' — and why it belongs on every agenda as a standing itemPaper or online? Not even a close decisionAnnual review: building it into the calendar so it's not something you have to remember to rememberFree Compliance Register and Committee Calendar templates from the Committee Companion in the show notes. Full show notes and free downloads at thecommitteeroom.com.au

  6. Sep 14

    Ep 20 Changing the Rules

    The committee knows the Constitution isn't working anymore. It describes an organisation they no longer are. Changing it feels too hard, too expensive, too complicated and too uncertain — so they work around it, work through it, ignore the bits that don't suit them, and keep going. Until one day they can't ignore it anymore. And by then, the problem they've been avoiding for years has become a constitutional crisis. The good news is that the process doesn't have to be as hard as people think. And already knowing what needs to change is half the job. In the second episode of the Documents Done Right series, Kate H and Kate M cover what happens when the Constitution needs to change — and the companion documents that mean it needs to change far less often than most committees think. In this episode: The difference between what the Act requires and what your organisation can choose — and why this changes everythingThe dot point method for working out what you want to change before touching any legal languageHow the amendment process actually works — notice period, approval threshold and registrationWhy 75% is the default but not the only option — and why you get to chooseThe four companion documents: Committee Charter, Code of Conduct, By-laws and PoliciesDocument architecture — why getting this right means the committee can update operational detail by resolution, not by general meetingFuture-proofing: how one sentence can cover video calls, phone-ins and whatever technology comes nextFive husbands and what they have to do with change management — unlike husbands, constitutions can be improved without dividing up the furnitureFree companion documents overview from the Committee Companion in the show notes. Full show notes and free download at thecommitteeroom.com.au

  7. Sep 7

    Ep 19 Your Founding Document

    Does our Constitution allow us to do that? The room goes quiet. The Secretary looks at the President. The President looks at the Secretary. Eventually they find the Constitution in the shared drive — and there's nothing in it about employees at all. Your Constitution is binding on every member of your organisation whether they've read it or not. Ignorance is not a defence. And most committees are navigating on much shakier ground than they realise. In the first episode of the Documents Done Right series, Kate H and Kate M cover everything a committee needs to know about the most important document their organisation has. In this episode: Why incorporation gives members real protection — and what the Constitution has to do with itWhy ignorance of your own Constitution is not a defence — and what the Duty of Obedience actually requiresThe three layers of what goes in a Constitution: mandatory elements, best practice and your own choicesWhy one size does not fit all — and why the model Constitution is a starting point, not a solutionThe mandatory elements every Constitution must cover — and the traps hiding in plain sightMembership and voting rights: why calling someone a Member gives them rights and obligations the Constitution must be clear aboutThe amendment threshold: why 75% isn't actually required by lawThe plain English test — and a practical technique for rewriting your Constitution without getting overwhelmed by the legaleseFree Essential Elements Checklist from the Committee Companion in the show notes. Full show notes and free download at thecommitteeroom.com.au

  8. Aug 31

    Episode 18 Your Questions Answered 2

    The questions keep coming — and so do the Kates. In this second Your Questions Answered special, Kate H and Kate M work through eight more real situations from committee members across Australia. Questions covered in this episode: A committee member has been sharing confidential information outside the committee room — what are the committee's options?The AGM has only enough nominees to fill the committee positions with no contested election — is that a valid AGM?The manager has been signing contracts with suppliers without committee approval, and the chairperson says he's seen them and that's enough — should the rest of the committee be concerned?A committee member was elected through a disputed process, hardly ever turns up and contributes nothing — what can the committee do?f a vote of no confidence is carried, do committee members have to resign?The paid manager wants committee members to sign a non-disclosure agreement — can they refuse?Members want to amend a proposed new constitution at the AGM — but the amendment wasn't in the notice of motionHow do you decide whether a committee role is right for you? Plus: Kate H and Kate M announce the Constitution Composer — a new tool from Fresh Allsorts for associations that need to review or replace their constitution. Five simple steps, from questionnaire to registration. Find out more at freshallsorts.com.au. Full show notes at thecommitteeroom.com.au

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About

Practical governance for volunteer committees and not-for-profit organisations. Hosted by governance consultants Kate Hartwig and Kate McPhee, each episode tackles one topic — clearly, honestly, and without the jargon. Short enough to finish before your coffee goes cold.

Information

  • Creator
    Kate Hartwig and Kate McPhee
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    25
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Kate Hartwig and Kate McPhee. All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    The Committee Room