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The first thing you should do, Andrew, is check the governing document of your charity.

In most cases (and for very good reasons, which I'll come on to), the governing document sets out the provisions for the appointment of trustees, and particularly the appointment of the 'officers' - usually the chair and the treasurer, and sometimes a secretary as well. You have to follow these provisions, or you may find that your trustee body isn't legally valid.

It will usually be clear from your governing document that the Chair and the Treasurer should be two separate people. Even if your governing document doesn't say this, I would say you have to have separate officers as a matter of good governance and proper accountability.

Although the whole trustee body is responsible for holding the treasurer and other trustees to account, very often the Chair and Treasurer will work closely together, with the Chair asking the questions and getting clarity on the figures before trustee meetings. And the Treasurer will often have a role in reigning in the Chair's ambitions if there isn't the money to support it.

On a purely practical basis, financial controls often require the signature of the Chair and Treasurer on cheques above a certain amount - there are no checks and balances if the same person holds both roles. Equally if two cheque signatories are closely related, they are potentially connected persons and there should be a third signatory to ensure absolute financial probity.

And if other trustees aren't willing to step forward, it suggests to me that rather a lot of the work would end up on your plate - which you probably don't want.

It sounds to me like you need to sit down with the other trustees and have a really serious discussion about the future of your charity, and the levels of commitment of remaining trustees. Why are trustee numbers depleted? What are the plans for recruiting more trustees to fill the gaps? What sort of people and skills do you need on the board? It would probably be helpful to draw up a job description for Chair and Treasurer and any other officers you have - stating responsibilities and approximate time commitments. Perhaps people are put off because they think there is more involved than there actually is? Remember that you can always recruit someone from outside as Chair - it doesn't necessarily have to be someone currently on the board. Perhaps someone can be persuaded to act as Chair while a recruitment process is put underway? Or maybe you have people with the right skills, but not enough confidence to step forward - perhaps with a little encouragement, support and possibly training they will find it is a role they will come to enjoy!