Seems to me that the Team at HQAC have created a situation which could easily implode. Civilian Organisations in a democracy tend to consult before they implement, but not so the ACO, which appears still to be subject to military doctrine even though uniform staff are now further removed from that arena.
What happened to Civilian support being able to input to the Air Cadet Council, bearing in mind, that if you are Civcom the rules of engagement are supposedly quite clear. The OC runs the Squadron, but if the Civcom has concerns in that area, they do not and cannot take over, but raise concerns higher up the chain. Then using fair and impartial judgement, the higher echelons will seek to resolve the issues.
There has always been a difficulty with the odd uniformed ,leaders believing Civcom held monies are there for them to do as they please, ignoring the niceties of Trustee agreements (ie complete denial of Charity Law ), but equally you can see an over zealous Civcom member rising above their station, and it is not clear how this is supposed to be managed; unless this achieved by the tweaking of ACP11 to create a disciplinary mechanism against Civcom members. Strange conflict where individuals who are not members, but can be disciplined by it!
But as you said, there is a conflict with someone who controls monies being in a position to influence the situation, and it is not clear how there are controls in place to avoid personal benefit or gain.
There is some confusion now arising over the use of terminology:
a) Civcom who are Trustees of a registered Charity,
b) Civcom who are Trustees of Registered (or Excepted) Charity which is registered for Gift
and c) Civcom who are Trustees of a Registered (or Excepted) Charity, of which members may be registered to assist in Squadron activities.
Logically a member of the Squadron Association could assist in Squadron activities, and not being a Trustee, there would be no potential for a conflict of interest.
However, having introduced the concept of the Association (which ironically, technically existed at each Squadron long before the ACO became aware of it) the ACO does not know what to do with it, but essentially without the Association there is no Civcom.
But it is understandable that an OC, who has been subject to training at Cranwell, might get upset at someone questioning his/her judgement. It is relevant to point out that Civcom members do not receive any form of training, nor are selected on the basis of their charity experience, or understanding of Charity Law. That is equally true at Wing level despite which, said Chairs are now involved in guidance at Squadron level - no doubt simply to ensure they get their F60s in on time.
This all amounts to a considerable blurring of parameters, and to help understand ACP11, a PhD in Creative Writing might be an advantage .