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

Welcome and introduction by Chair - Melvin Coleman, Amnesty International UK

Plenary
9:30-10:15

Building a dialogue with donors in the current economic climate.

This session will look at how charities can shape their dialogue with donors to get them talking and thinking about what really matters, namely results.

Martin Brookes, New Philanthropy Capital

Stream A
RECESSION 1

Stream B
RECESSION 2

Stream C
CHARITY

Stream D
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Stream E
UPDATES

Session 1
10:15-11:00

1A: Reviewing your Strategy

In this session Pesh will look at what strategy is and why it is important, as well as asking does your current strategy still work in the current ecomonic climate? He will also look at how you review a strategy, what is core to the charity and ways to deliver a strategy.

Pesh Framjee, Horwath Clark Whitehill

1B: Mergers: What are they really like?

This session will provide insight into how and when a Finance Director becomes involved in a merger. It will cover areas from the selection of professional advisors to understanding what is required to allow charities to merge. The talk will draw on the recent experience of the merger of Age Concern England and Help the Aged, which involved merging 5 charities, creating 4 new ones and dealing with many regulatory bodies.

Alan How, Age Concern England

1C: Developments in Philanthropy

The session will explore recent trends in charitable giving and the outlook for giving in the economic downturn. It will highlight the growing importance of the New Philanthropists and the benefits they can bring to charities.

Susan Mackenzie, Philanthropy UK

1D: Moving from a corporate to a not-for-profit environment

In this session Tania will be drawing on her experience of moving from a corporate to a not for profit environment to compare the two sectors and discuss the challenges and learning from the change.

Tania Fitzgerald, Scope

1E: Tax and Gift Aid update

This session will focus on current topics and beyond the basics to include: Tax and VAT implications of consortium bids, Joint ventures between charities and with companies and a look at the latest on substantial donor rules and other gift aid issues.

Kate Sayer, Sayer Vincent

Break
11:00-11:30

Tea and coffee break and time to explore the exhibition

Session 2
11:30-12:15

2A: Cash flow forecasting and management

"Income is vanity, profit is sanity and cash is reality." This session considers how cash flow forecasting and management can be established. It looks at managing the increasing risks and decreasing returns on cash.

Rohan Hewavisenti, British Red Cross

2B: An internal audit view of fraud

During this session Jill will look into the following areas around fraud: The fraud response team, whistle blowing policy, fundraising controls, charity retail controls, and money laundering.

Jill Reid, WRVS

2C: Squaring things up - Finance and the Strategic Plan

This session will consider how your strategic plan links to finances, reserves policies, investment policies and risk. The session will also consider strategic planning in general and how to bring about change, and specifically finance role within this.

Mark Salway, Care International UK

2D: Managing change for the new FD

In this session Helen will look at what you should do in the first 100 days of a new role, and how you should then approach the changes that you want to put into place following your initial review.

Helen Verney, Jewish Care

2E: The SORP - the issues and possible ways forward

Whilst awaiting details of the ASB's plans for convergence with international standards, the SORP Committee launched research into 'what stakeholders want from the next SORP'. This session will focus on the initial outcomes of that research, including details of the feedback from roundtable events and the options the ASB might have for achieving convergence.

Ray Jones, Charity Commission

Plenary
12:15-13:00

What is a CEO looking for from the Finance Director in the current climate?

In this session Mark will talk about the need to be a team player, the need for their judgement to be based on the whole business and not confined to accountancy and the need to be involved in the development of corporate strategy.

Mark Watts, RSPCA

Lunch
13:00-14:15

Enjoy the hot buffet lunch and time to explore the exhibition

Session 3
14:15-15:00

3A: Cost reduction: a strategic approach

In this session David will look at the following areas. What is it we do, what are we here for and what are our strategic objectives and priorities? He will also focus on how we allocate our scarce resources around these priorities, how we meet our strategic objectives while reducing our costs and Making cost reduction work - the Seven Deadly Sins!

David Williams, Grant Thornton UK LLP

3B: Best Bid, Right Contract - what can the third and private sectors teach each other?

Adrian will talk about some of the fundamentals of good practice in bidding and negotiating public service contracts, drawing on Serco's experience in bidding hundreds of such contracts each year. He will draw on specific case studies, where Serco has worked in partnership with the voluntary sector; and will consider how the two sectors may best collaborate into the future.

Adrian Harrison, SERCO

3C: Partnership working–opportunities and risks

At a time when many funders but particularly the Government are encouraging partnership working, how should you approach it? What opportunities flow from working in partnership and what are the risks? How do you go about establishing a sound partnership that will genuinely provide a better set of outcomes than could be provided by you alone?

Simon Bass, Action for Children

3D: Personal Organisation

Do you work long hours on a regular basis? Habitually take work home with you? Find it difficult to 'switch off'? Are you constantly chasing deadlines? Do you have more than 10 emails in your inbox or piles of paper on your desk? If you experience any of these, the chances are that you will get a significant return on your investment by attending this talk which should give you an indication of opportunities to achieve more and improve your work/life balance and reduce stress.

Bob Malloney, Malloney Associates

3E: Charities & Public Benefit

This session will give an introduction to the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit. Stephen will begin by looking at the key principles and then go on to look at what to do with difficult cases. Areas to be considered are fee charging, private benefit and the fact that people in poverty must not be excluded from the opportunity to benefit. He will end by looking into the Charity Commission's approach to these issues.

Stephen Lloyd, Bates Wells & Braithwaite London LLP

Break
15:00-15:30

Tea and coffee break with time to explore the exhibition

Session 4
15:30-16:15

4A: Trading whilst insolvent: signs, actions and trustee responsibilities

In this session, Richard will discuss the following areas: What are Trustees and Directors’ overarching responsibilities and what is therefore required of the FD? He will also look at The Going Concern assumption; Signs of insolvency; key tasks for an FD to mitigate the risks of insolvency; Consequences of insolvency on Trustees & Directors and finally, 2009 year end audit procedures and impact.

Richard Weaver, Haysmacintyre

4B: Charity begins at home

In this session Belinda will focus on some basic and straightforward strategies to help maximise spending power and make the most of precious funds particularly in the tough times we are going through now.

Belinda Prince, Cancer Research UK

4C: IT effective…is IT transforming your organisation?

In these more challenging economic times the spotlight focuses on how IT can deliver change that can really benefit and transform. In this interactive and fast moving session David will discuss where IT should fit into the Charity Finance Director’s radar in 2009.

David Locke, BMS World Mission

4D: The benefits of flexible working

Today we see flexible working becoming more and more in demand. Could it really work for your organisation? This session will cover what flexible working actually is, some of the realities and myths of flexible working and the benefits of flexible working to you, your employees and your organisation.

Heather Brierley, DSC

4E: Sustainable reporting

Kate will be discussing the growing field of sustainability reporting, in reference to CFDG's recent publication, 'Sustainability in Practise: Monitoring and Reporting'. She will look at how the expectations surrounding sustainability have changed over the last few years, and what new standards and practises have backed that change. And she will examine what the most advanced organisations are doing on sustainability today, and why.

Kate Hand, CFDG

Plenary
16:15-17:00

The Government's support for charities in the current climate

Kevin will take us through what the Government is doing to support the Third Sector in the current recession as well as what the government is looking for from the sector at this time.

Kevin Brennan MP, Minister for the Third Sector

Close
17:00-17:10

Closing remarks by the Chair, Q&A.

Reception
17:10-18:00

Reception sponsored by Rensburg Sheppards.