Asha for Education

Whistleblower policy

Asha for Education [hereafter referred to as Asha] requires its volunteers to observe high standards of business and personal ethics in the conduct of their duties and responsibilities. Every volunteer of Asha must practice honesty and integrity in fulfilling their responsibilities and comply with all applicable laws and regulations.

Reporting Responsibility
This Whistleblower Policy is intended to encourage and enable Asha volunteers to raise any serious concerns internally so that Asha can address and correct inappropriate conduct and behavior. It will be the responsibility of all Asha volunteers to report concerns about violations of Asha’s core values or suspected violations of established policies that govern Asha’s operations.

No Retaliation
It is contrary to the values of Asha for anyone to retaliate against any volunteer who in good faith reports a policy violation, or a suspected violation of law, such as a complaint of discrimination, or suspected fraud, or suspected violation of any regulation governing Asha’s operations. A volunteer who retaliates against someone who has reported a violation in good faith is subject to being declared as persona non grata in Asha. If any elected members of the Board of Directors retaliate they are subject to being recalled from their positions of responsibilities.

Reporting Procedure
Asha has an open door policy and suggests that volunteers share their questions, concerns, suggestions or complaints with their chapter coordinator. If the volunteer is not comfortable speaking with the chapter coordinator, or is not satisfied with the chapter coordinator’s response, the issue should be escalated to the Asha President and his/her team. Chapter coordinators and Board members are required to document complaints or concerns about suspected ethical and policy violations in writing and present to a designated volunteer for investigation and arbitration.

Compliance Assurance Volunteer
Any member(s) of the Board of Directors can be appointed as a ‘Compliance Assurance Volunteer’ who will be responsible for ensuring that all complaints are investigated and resolved. The Compliance Assurance Volunteer will advise the Board of Directors of all complaints and their resolution and will report their findings during the annual audit exercise.

Accounting and Auditing Matters
The Compliance Assurance Volunteer shall immediately notify the Treasury team of any concerns or complaint regarding corporate accounting practices, internal financial controls or auditing and work with the team until the matter is resolved.

Acting in Good Faith
Anyone filing a written complaint concerning a violation or suspected violation must be acting in good faith and have reasonable grounds for believing the information disclosed indicates a violation. Any allegations that prove not to be substantiated and which prove to have been made maliciously or knowingly to be false will be viewed as a serious violation of Asha’s core values and the volunteer filing such complaints may be subject to being declared as persona non-grata.

Confidentiality
Violations or suspected violations may be submitted on a confidential basis by the complainant. Reports of violations or suspected violations will be kept confidential to the extent possible, consistent with the need to conduct an adequate investigation.

Handling of Reported Violations
The Compliance Assurance Volunteer will notify the person who submitted a complaint and acknowledge receipt of the reported violation or suspected violation. All reports will be promptly investigated and appropriate corrective action will be taken if warranted by the investigation.