About the CFDG
Benchmarking The Finance Function - Finance CountTM 2010
Finance Count is a financial management benchmarking tool tailored specifically to the needs of the third sector, designed by the Charity Finance Directors' Group and Agenda Consulting.
There are 4 finance workshops included as part of membership to Finance Count. The launch workshop was held at CFDG on 18th March 2010. The other workshops will be held at CFDG on the following dates:
Workshop: Making a Success of Public Service Delivery
6th May 2010
Kevin Barnes, Director of Finance, Barnardos shares his experience of success in public service delivery.
Workshop: Using Technology to Streamline Finance Processes and Improve Financial Decision Making
9th June 2010
Stephen Masson, Head of Finance, The Wellcome Trust shares his experience of implementing a new finance system to improve functionality and reduce costs.
Workshop: Introducing Procurement Cards: Anticipated Benefits and Hurdles
8th July 2010
Charles Nall, Corporate Services Director, The Children's Society and Chair of The Charity Finance Directors Group shares his experience of using procurement cards.
Over 160 organisations of different sizes and sub sectors have been involved over the past 2 years, representing almost 15% of the third sector workforce, and combined total net assets of over £3.8 billion. The organisations taking part get a clear picture of how the financial processes in their organisation compare with those in other voluntary and community organisations. This provides a powerful, tailor-made tool which they can use to contribute to performance improvement. The reports also contain case studies on good practice from high performing organisations involved in the study.
Members receive:
Organisation Scorecard
Sector-wide Report
Detailed Statistics Report
1-1 telephone consultation
Online access to our benchmarking database and case studies for 12 months
4 workshops per annum to hear case studies, share good practice and network with fellow finance professionals
Invitation to participate in other surveys as appropriate.
Benefits experienced by participants:
Provides early warning signs of potential issues
Gives reassurance for what is already working well
Helps determine priorities for action
Provides evidence to support change
Useful in setting meaningful and realistic targets
Enhances your ability to report back to management and trustees
Gain new insights on good practice and how to achieve it.
Key topics covered include:
Transaction processing: purchasing, the purchase ledger, expenses, payroll and income processing
Internal and external reporting and use of performance management techniques
Control and decision support: planning, budgeting, cash and treasury management, and public service delivery
A look at the finance function in detail: staffing levels, qualifications, training, effectiveness, leadership and planned changes
Central function costs, trading and investment management.
Comments from previous participants:
“Benchmarking ourselves against others has given us a better sense of where we are, and where we need to improve”
Ian Vickers, Chief Accountant, RNIB
“A valuable tool for comparison within the sector”
Ben McGrath, Head of Finance & IT, Refuge
More Information:
More information can be found on the Finance Count™ website.
For information about past workshops please see Previous Benchmarking Events.