Thirty charities benefit from free professional advice at a Cambridge event organised by Pure
Thirty charity finance officers and leaders of third sector enterprises in East Anglia attended an event, held in Cambridge, to provide free professional advice and updates on financial, business and people development.
The annual Charity Finance Forum was organised by Pure Resourcing Solutions (Pure), in collaboration with Cambridge accountancy firm PEM, as a professional development opportunity for those working in the charity sector. This year’s event, which was held at the Holiday Inn on Thursday 7th April, included four guest speakers who provided expert guidance on topics which are vital for the budget-conscious charity sector.
Tim Jones from Unity Trust Bank, which provides specialist banking services for the not-for-profit sector, explained how charitable organisations can get the best from their banking relationship. Joy Bemrose, from Cambridge-based HR consultancy Winning Workplaces, outlined techniques for effective performance management and Matt Newman from Jagex, situated at the city’s Science Park, looked at how social organisations can develop more impactful KPIs for their stakeholders.
Judith Coplowe, Director for Charities and Not for Profit Organisations at PEM, also outlined key changes in accounts’ disclosures, something which charities need to be aware of under the new Statements of Recommended Practices (SORPs) issued by the Charity Commission.
Pure’s annual Charity Finance Forum has become an established professional development event. All those who attended also qualified for a Continuous Professional Development (CPD) credit if they were working towards a professional management qualification.
David Culley, Associate Director at Pure, said: “We have been organising this annual forum for 13 years and this event proved to be as interesting, informative and successful as ever. We have had some excellent feedback from those who attended and they have praised the extensive knowledge and professional advice which was provided free of charge. At Pure we work hard to support the charities delivering essential support services to the local communities around our four offices in East Anglia. This doesn’t just include hosting and participating in a range of fundraising events, but also looking to organise events like this to help further develop and enhance the success of these fantastic organisations.”
The forum was provided free of charge, but participants were asked to make a donation to charity. As a result, a total of £800 was raised for Cambridge-based charity Talk to Stars, which offers bereavement support for children and young people.
If you work in Finance in the charity sector and would like more information, contact David on 01223 209888.