Its findings showed that in many cases, small charities across the UK are not employing individuals with the necessary experience and as such, board recruitment should have a greater focus on delivering the key skills that would boost charities financial wellbeing.

"Many rely heavily on staff, trustees and advisers with financial expertise from other sectors, who may often struggle to adapt their knowledge to a charity context," the report stated.

It added that the areas where charities tend to struggle most are restricted funds and VAT exemptions.

The Institute for Government also recently published a new report highlighting calls for finance leaders to play a greater role in strategic decision-making within central government.

It stated that elevating the prominence and responsibilities of these individuals holds the key to better performance management.

Beverley Steel, managing director of Odgers Public, said: "Odgers Berndtson understand the importance of excellent leadership in the changing voluntary sector; we have worked with many non-profits to deliver leaders with the skills and experience needed to build sound board-level governance and more effective organisations."

With remuneration for company secretaries and executives a hot topic in the current financial climate, the news that bonus-related pay could be slashed for those who do not provide a customer-focused service may be welcomed by many.

Indeed, Tristan Freer, director of Cheltenham-based Bank House Investment Management, told the FT Adviser: "Clients only care about absolute performance - not if a fund has beaten the benchmark but still made losses. Passive funds are much cheaper and don't have that element of human error."

Changes to EU law on remuneration are currently being discussed, with the proposed directive set to come into force from 2015.

The news follows recent comments from chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority Martin Wheatley, who argued that the EU's upcoming cap on bankers' bonuses could result in a significant increase in basic salaries in the City. 

Speaking at the British Chambers of Commerce's 'Business is good for equality' event last week, Jo Swinson said the UK cannot grow its economy using the talents of just half of the population. 

However, she believes many businesses may view promoting equality as a harder task than it actually is. 

"You don't need expensive equality consultants or to be up to your ears in policies. It's about common sense and using the tools available," Ms Swinson commented.

The MP also spoke about the government's plans for the introduction of shared parental leave in 2015. 

She stated that enforcing this policy will not add to company's workloads and should staff lie when applying for leave, that will be a matter for HM Revenue and Customs to address rather than employers.

Money from the fund will be utilised by trusts up and down the country to make better use of technology to stop inappropriate prescriptions being made following the loss of patient notes.

According to the DoH, errors currently take place in eight per cent of all hospital prescriptions and this is something the government wishes to see eradicated.

Health secretary Jeremy Hunt stated: "If we are to improve patient safety then we must allow the NHS to have access to the best tools available and this fund will help them achieve that."

The news follows the recent publication of a new report by Sir Ken Knight highlighting the massive savings that can be made in the UK's fire service, with high levels of capital reserves of up to £400 million having been created across the sector since 2008.

Odgers Berndtson is the UK's largest executive search firm working in healthcare, handling assignments globally for both public and private sector organisations.

Published by Sir Ken Knight, the study discovered that despite a 40 per cent reduction in call-outs and incidents over the last ten years, expenditure and the number of fire fighters has largely remained unchanged. 

Sir Ken claimed fire services spend according to the budget they are given, rather than the risks they have to manage. This is leading to huge variations across the nation, with the cost per head of fire services in some areas being double that of others. 

He also found that fire and rescue authorities have high levels of capital reserves, increasing from just over £200 million to more than £400 million between 2008 and 2012.

The report concluded that if the fire services that spend above the average level managed to reduce their expenditure, some £200 million could be saved or reinvested each year.

Odgers Berndtson has an unparalleled track record in public sector executive search with dedicated consultants in all sectors headed by Managing Director Beverley Steel.

This is the opinion of Martin Wheatley, the new chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority. 

It has already been proposed by the EU that bonuses should be capped at one times a bankers' salary, or double that number if given shareholder approval. 

However, Mr Wheatley claimed that introducing this measure for anyone earning over £420,000 per year would mean there would be limited options for penalising individuals when things go wrong, the Guardian reports.

He said that when there was an attempt to introduce restrictions in the past, pay of middle-ranking bank staff increased by 100 per cent and the "same thing will happen again".

Earlier this week, PricewaterhouseCoopers said the European Banking Authority has approved plans to cap the bonus packages of any banking employee whose pay is in excess of £500,000 per year.

Research by IT industry association CompTIA found that 62 per cent of firms plan to increase their technology headcount over the next 12 months.

More than eight out of ten executives said they have some sort of IT skills gap within their organisation at the moment.

"In many cases skills gaps are a natural part of the IT industry due to the speed of innovation. The demand for new technologies can get ahead of the supply of workers," commented John McGlinchey, CompTIA vice president for Europe and the Middle East.

To try and counter this skills shortage, 86 per cent of UK companies engaged in some type of IT training during the past 12 months.

CompTIA's study also highlighted the key role technology plays for UK businesses, with 80 per cent of those surveyed saying it is important to their success.

Its overriding aim is to allow Britons to have more of a say in the way the public sector is run and on the services they receive. It covers five main areas - the NHS, social housing, education, early education and adult social care. 

The charter has been published in conjunction with the government's response to David Boyle's review of the 'barriers to choice' in public services, which provided recommendations on how choice can be improved in the five key areas listed above. 

The government has also released an update on its Open Public Services programme, which covers its commitment to modernising public services.

It lists a number of achievements, such as the opening of 81 free schools and 2,886 academies, as well as the success of the Apprenticeships Grant for Employers scheme, which has led to 18,900 apprentices being taken on.

Odgers Berndtson has an unparalleled track record in public sector executive search with dedicated consultants in all sectors headed by Managing Director Beverley Steel.

It focuses on helping authorities that are grappling with the challenge of improving the financial value of the services they provide and offers practical steps for exploring and creating alternative delivery methods. 

"By laying out the spin-out process, we hope to help debunk the myths around spin-outs or alternative delivery models and help local authorities move aspirations into reality," commented Kru Desai, KPMG’s head of local and regional government.

She added that against the backdrop of many pressures, including spending cuts and an ageing population, the potential benefits of spinning-out local services should be embraced. 

Ms Desai claimed local authorities that spin-out activities can create a new revenue stream, while organisations that buy services from the new spin-out stand to secure a better deal for the taxpayer by gaining access to higher performing services at lower costs.

Odgers Berndtson has an unparalleled track record in public sector executive search with dedicated consultants in all sectors headed by Managing Director Beverley Steel.

The professional boards forum discovered that just 12 per cent of people recruited to FTSE boardrooms in the two months up to May 2013 were women. This means only four of the 34 new appointments were female.

Furthermore, the proportion of women in senior executive roles has been stuck at 17.4 per cent since August and there are five companies that do not have a single female director.

Commenting on the figures, Lyndsey Oliver, co-founder of gender balance consultancy Female Quotient, said the news is disappointing, particularly in light of the attention this subject has been receiving.

"While the benefits are proven, it seems we have some way to go to change mindsets," she stated.

Indeed, if female representation is to reach the 25 per cent target set by Lord Davies in 2011, an additional 84 seats need to be held by women.