Covenant Outreach (CO) is a non-governmental organisation that provides charitable support to disadvantaged families. It is currently involved in a number of community projects to assist in the provision of clean water supply to families in Liberia, Nigeria and the Gambia. In its home country, Ghana it focuses more on assisting clients in accessing state granted financial support as well as providing counselling and psychological support to less privileged people. The NGO has grown very rapidly in recent years as demand for its services have increased. In line with this rising demand, it has begun to slowly evolve from an enterprise primarily run by volunteers to an institution employing professional managers from the private sector. These changes are considered essential in supporting the sustainability of the charity. The board of trustees at the NGO recognise the need to adopt a relevant code of ethics as part of necessary governance support structures. They are however concerned about recent criticism of such codes and wish to ensure that any code developed is effective throughout the organisation.

Required:

a) Advise CO on FOUR fundamental principles to be included in its code of ethics. (10 marks)

b) Explain FOUR benefits of good corporate governance to CO. (10 marks)