Registration / Welcome
8:30-9:15 / 9:15-9:30

Welcome and introduction by Chair - Melvin Coleman, Amnesty International

Plenary
9:30-10:15

Accountable, Transparent and Making an Impact: the Christian Aid experience.

Large charities are under pressure from the public, media, donors and others to be more accountable and to show they are making a difference. Dr Mukarji will explore how Christian Aid recognised this and over the years has built its capacity, competence and reputation "to be an open, transparent and learning organisation, accountable for its actions and able to meet high standards for public and stakeholder reporting".

Dr Daleep Mukarji, Christian Aid

Stream A
RELATING TO STAKEHOLDERS

Stream B
DEVELOPING THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT

Stream C
CURRENT ISSUES

Stream D
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Stream E
UPDATES

Session 1
10:15-11:00

1A: Impact Reporting: What it is - What it is not.

This session will dispel many of the myths associated with the 'hype' on impact reporting. It will be practical and critical in illustrating what is possible and what is not in the charity sector. The role of the Finance Director in this process will be reviewed and discussed.

Prof Paul Palmer & Peter Grant, CASS

1B: Leadership

"Leaders are people who do the right thing; managers are people who do things right." - Breckell argues that whilst doing the things right is an important discipline for a charity Finance Director, more is required and that the role is essentially one of leadership rather than just management. We must do the right thing.

Paul Breckell, RNID

1C: Bidding For Contracts

In this session, Les will be giving an update on how Local authorities now have well established standardised procedures for procuring public services from businesses. These procedures, if not adapted, can systematically exclude many third sector organisations.

Les Hems, Guidestar UK

1D: Making IT Count

This session will consider how the Finance Director in charge of the IT function can best lead and set direction. The seminar will cover how to develop an IT strategy, benchmarking your IT function, building a high performance IT team, evaluating the costs benefits of new IT projects and tactical opportunities in 2008.

David Locke, BMS World Mission

1E: Charities & Companies Acts

In respect of the Companies Act 2006, this session will focus mostly on recent provisions which will have come into force in April just before the conference, and in respect of the Charities Act 2006, on recent provisions which have come into force and Charity Commission guidance.

Briget Hanwell and Stephen Pallister, Charles Russell

Break
11:00-11:30

Tea & coffee break and time to explore the exhibition

Session 2
11:30-12:15

2A: Measuring Social Impact

During the session Tim will discuss this complex topic in plain English, explain what social impact reporting involves and offer some useful "starter for ten" points for organisations that are relatively new to the subject. Tim will also discuss "why social impact reporting". Is it a necessary evil or an important marketing opportunity? Or both?

David Taylor, Grant Thornton

2B: Developing a Strategy for the Finance Department

This session will explore how to evaluate and structure a finance department to respond to the needs of the organisation's strategic and operational plans and deliver a service to the whole organisation.

Keith Hickey, CFDG

2C: Accounting & Tax Issues in Contracts

Charities' funding arrangements are becoming increasingly complex, often ranging from straightforward donations or grants, to detailed contracts containing specified outputs, conditions and performance- related criteria. The VAT implications can be significant, and the accounting treatment is not always clear-cut.

This session will consider the key issues to address when managing contracts.

Sally Kirby and Robert Warne, Horwath Clark Whitehill

2D: Property

This session will explore key structural, legal and tax issues for the finance director when managing property risk.

Ian Bucknell, Asthma UK

2E: All Aboard the Governance Express: Public Benefit

This session will outline the changes in the law relating to public benefit and the need to put this subject at the heart of a charity's governance framework.

Moira Protani, Berwin, Leighton, Paisner

Plenary
12:15-13:00

Accountability - The GAP Framework

With the rapid growth of the sector over the past 15 years, charities and other not-for-profit organisations the world over face increasing challenges concerning their legitimacy and scrutiny of the way they work. How can civil society organisations at national and international level strengthen their accountability to the general public and specific stakeholders while preserving their unique potential for innovation and sensitivity to the needs of many groups who are disadvantaged in society and the global market place for employment, education and livelihoods?

Michael Hammer, One World Trust

Lunch
13:00-14:15

Enjoy the hot buffet lunch, explore the exhibition or visit the 'surgery' on public benefit provided by
Berwin Leighton Paisner

Session 3
14:15-15:00

3A: Value beyond the numbers

Alan will talk about recent trends in sustainability reporting, sharing insights into how it is changing, emphasising how engagement with communities is essential.

Alan McGill, KPMG

3B: Developments in In-House Reporting

How does one change data into knowledge that adds real value? This session will look at how charities report internally and use this to inform what they report externally.

Pesh Framjee, Deloitte

3C: Financial Management without Budgets

Budgets can be time consuming to prepare and then out of date when the year starts. But, how do you ensure the right level of control and monitoring without them? This session will look at the framework of financial management tools, and demonstrate a more effective way of linking your strategy to financial expectations, without budgets.

Petra Ingram, Sightsavers

3D: Company Secretary and Legal Services - the Role of the Finance Director

This session will cover a number of issues relating to role of Company Secretary and the provision of legal senior support to the charity.

Mark Harvey, Help the Aged

3E: SORP Update

An Update on the work of the SORP Committee - This session provides an insight into the work of the SORP Committee and its plans. It looks at the challenges ahead and some of the key issues arising. It will provide a resume of additional guidance produced already in published Information Sheets and look at the possible future role of ASB in a post convergence environment.

Ray Jones, Charity Commission

Break
15:00-15:30

Tea & coffee break with time to explore the exhibition

Session 4
15:30-16:15

4A: Engaging with the Environment: Getting Started

Kate will take charities through the process of engaging staff in this important area and developing an environmental action plan. Kate will do this based on the "One Planet Living" initiative based on 10 principles of sustainability developed by BioRegional and WWF International.

Kate Hand, CFDG

4B: Selecting the right Accounting Software

The session will review what features a charity accounting software package should possess and whether current offerings do. It is aimed at medium sized charities with an income greater than £1 million. The functionality of packages will be discussed and it is hoped to incorporate the views of users.

Roger Chester, Lionheart

4C: Charities & Trading

This session will help charities to treat trading activities correctly. How do you handle non-primary purpose trading, ancillary trades and mixed trades? It will also look at inter-company charges and some common problem areas such as loss-making activities.

Kate Sayer, Sayer Vincent

4D: Human Resources

People are a vital resource for charities, but they are not the same as other resources such as computers: how is this 'humanity' reflected in HR? Secondly people are an important form of risk control, but increasingly we seem to rely on policies and procedures to control risk; how far can this go? Finally how can one assess the value, rather than simply the cost, of an HR department?

James Brooke Turner, The Nuffield Foundation

4E: Charity Audit Under the New Practice Note 11

Practice Note 11, issued by the Auditing Practices Board, governs how charity audits are performed in the UK. PN 11 has been revised and addresses some important issues. This session will provide an overview of the revised practice note and explain its relevance to the auditor and finance director and treasurer and highlight the more significant issues which finance directors should consider.

Don Bawtree, BDO

Plenary
16:15-17:00

Civil Society: current challenges, future prospects

Stuart Etherington will examine the state of the sector in 2008, using the latest statistics from NCVO's Civil Society Almanac and discuss future prospects for charities in what is likely to be a colder financial climate. A focus will be on accountability and transparency and how organisations can demonstrate their full value.

Stuart Etherington, NCVO

Close
17:00-17:10

Closing remarks by the Chair, Q&A.

Reception
17:10-18:00

Reception sponsored by Rensburg Sheppards Investment Management.