26 April 2023

• 9.00AM - 9.20AM
  Registration, coffee & networking
• 9.20AM - 9.30AM
  Chair's welcome
  Jenni O'Donovan, events director, Civil Society Media 
• 9.30AM - 10.35AM
  Keynote panel discussion: Boost or brake? The role of trustee boards in enabling – championing, even – charity chief executives to speak out
  Last year, the Sheila McKechnie Foundation (SMK) launched a new initiative bringing together charity CEOs who want to work together to
  ensure charities take their proper place in the national conversation. Evidence and experience show that charity CEOs are relatively underrepresented in public debate, compared to, say, business leaders. The concern is that charities' society-wide and systemic perspectives are missing at a time we need our national conversation to be at its richest.
  Exploring this question with others both within and outside the sector suggest that trustee boards can be one of the barriers to CEOs having a platform. In this timely and important discussion, led by SMK’s CEO Sue Tibballs, our panellists will unpack why charity CEOs are not given the same exposure as their private and public sector peers on the major issues of the day, and explore what needs to happen to ensure their voices are heard in the national debate.
   

  Sue Tibballs, chief executive, Sheila McKechnie Foundation (chair); Halima Begum, CEO, the Runnymede Trust; Alison Holt, social affairs
  editor, BBC; Joe Saxton, founder, nfpResearch; Chris Sherwood, chief executive, RSPCA
• 10.35AM - 11.00AM
  Morning networking break
• 11.00AM - 11.30AM
  Morning plenary: Second-chance saloon
  James Timpson OBE DL is chief executive of Timpson Ltd, a family-run business with over 2,000 high-street shops including cobbler and keycutter Timpson, Snappy Snaps and Johnsons the Cleaners. He’s also chair of the Prison Reform Trust and national chair of the Employment
  Advisory Board, which works closely with New Futures Network and the Ministry of Justice helping those in prison to secure a job on release.
  Undoubtedly inspired by his experience of being raised in a family that fostered more than 80 children, James is famed for his determination
  that everyone deserves a second chance in life, and his business model is built on employing ex-offenders. In this uplifting keynote speech,
  James will share his philosophy of upside-down leadership and tips for instilling a culture of kindness in an organisation.

   

  James Timpson, chief executive, Timpson and chair, the Prison Reform Trust
• 11.35AM - 12.20PM
  1A. Audit and taxation: An update on latest changes

  The introduction of new audit standard ISA 315 will add a significant volume of work to every charity audit, particularly those that rely heavily on IT systems to support their operations.  On top of this, the new chancellor’s autumn and spring statements are likely to announce further tax changes that will affect charities, including around employment, Gift Aid, VAT and capital allowances. Join this session to get up to speed on all these changes and their impacts on your charity, so you can be confident that your financial forecasting is robust.

  Richard Weaver, head of charities and not for profit and Nick Bustin, employment tax director, haysmacintyre

• 11.35AM - 12.20PM
  1B. Regulatory update: The Charities Act, latest Charity Commission guidance and implications of recent court rulings
  With two implementation stages of the new Charities Act already under way and a third due to commence, Con and Shivaji will provide their expert reflections on the changes to charity law and their impacts on trustee decision-making. They will also unpick the new Charity Commission guidance on the rules around ESG investing in light of the Butler-Sloss case, and consider the implications of other recent court decisions involving charities.

  
  Con Alexander and Shivaji Shiva, partners, VWV
• 11.35AM - 12.20PM
  1C. Bringing governance into the 21st century
  Most charity trustees are busy people, and charities have a responsibility to ensure that their boards can operate as effectively and efficiently as possible.  Digital technologies can support this aim by making it easier for trustees to send and receive information, interrogate data, assess risks and opportunities and attend virtual meetings. In this session, Ed and a charity partner will explain how a digital-first approach to governance can help charity boards to make better decisions while also saving both time and money. 
   

  Ed Rees, sales director, Diligent Institute and charity client TBC
• 12.25PM - 1.10PM
  2A. How well governed are you financially?
  How up-to-speed are you with your charity’s financial position in these challenging times? How resilient and sustainable is the organisation?
  This session will look at the importance of good financial governance and explore the building blocks that contribute to good quality financial information, ensure effective systems and controls, and create a culture that supports all trustees to engage in the numbers.
   

  Judith Miller, partner, Sayer Vincent 
• 12.25PM - 1.10PM
  2B. The Charity Governance Code: the next evolution
  The Charity Governance Code is now firmly embedded in the framework of the sector as a widely-accepted illustration of what good governance looks like. But more can always be done in a changing world to evolve its content and improve its uptake across the sector, and the Code Steering Group is keen to ensure the Code is as user-friendly as possible. Join this session to hear the Steering Group’s early thinking about the next iteration of the Code, as well as a trustee’s first-hand account of how their board used the Code’s pillars and principles to improve decision making.

  
  Radojka Miljevic and Rosalind Oakley, independent Chair and member, the Charity Governance Code Steering Group, Rachael Bailey, head of governance, Book Trust and Laura Crandley, COO, NCVO
• 12.25PM - 1.10PM
  2C. Good going: A chief executive’s last 100 days 
  Much has been written about a chief executive’s first 100 days, but what about their last 100 in the role? What might a chief executive do to make a good departure both for them and the organisation? Hear key insights from The Centre for Charity Effectiveness’s research study into this important period, and advice and learning from senior charity leaders about how they and their organisations have successfully navigated a CEO’s last 100 days.

   

  Host: Fiona Ash, consultant, Centre for Charity Effectiveness

  Panel: Helen Simmons, CEO, St Christopher’s Hospice, Steve Chu, former CEO, Age UK Sheffield and Chris Roles, former CEO, Age International

   
• 1.10PM - 2.10PM
  Lunch break
• 2.10PM - 2.55PM
  3A. Net-zero targets: Incorporating investments and tracking progress 

  Many charities have made ambitious and commendable climate commitments. However, many are yet to decide whether their investment portfolios will be included in their net-zero targets. Verified science-based targets are likely to include financed emissions via a charity’s investments, so understanding how investment portfolios can be incorporated in measurement and management of an organisation’s emissions is important. 

  Kate Rogers, global head of sustainability and Emily Petersen, portfolio director – charities, Cazenove Capital

• 2.10PM - 2.55PM
  3B. Panel discussion: Mainstreaming equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI)
  Most charities are now aware of EDI imperatives, and are taking some steps towards improving their performance in this area. However, it is also apparent that there is a gulf between what some people believe is good progress, and what others believe is good progress.  So, what does 'good' look like, now that EDI is no longer a fringe activity or an optional extra?

  
  Nathan Nalla, founder/director, Be the Riot, (chair); Amanda Bennett, EDI lead, Guide Dogs; Anusha Everson, associate director, people strategy and transformation, Wellcome; Aurelia Michael, sexual health community development officer, Staffordshire Sexual Health Charity
• 2.10PM - 2.55PM
  3C. The key role of governance in organisational integrity 

  Power & Integrity (PI ) a new open source initiative examining how understanding internal power dynamics can help organisations to build a more complete picture of their lived practice when it comes to integrity. Incubated within the NCVO, PI,  seeks to explore how organisations can adopt a coherent, whole-system approach that cuts across all areas of their work - including the role of boards and governance. In this session, Alex and Penny will share the learning so far from PI’s inaugural “power labs” with five charities, and invite delegates to consider how the findings are relevant to their own charity.

  Alex Cole Hamilton, PI lead and trustee, Sophie Hayes foundation and Penny Lawrence, PI advisor and chair, Refugee Action

• 2.55PM - 3.20PM
  Refreshments & networking break
• 3.20PM - 4.05PM
  4A. How trustees can support big audacious goals in fundraising
  We’ve all heard that ambitious, focused goals can energise people, but how can trustee boards get behind their fundraisers to help them set, and achieve, such goals? In this talk Liz will share:
  - How she and her team worked with trustees to develop a new fundraising strategy for GOSH Children’s Charity. 
  - Her journey leading a team emerging from the pandemic to create a transformational plan and ambitious pathway for the future.
  - Practical tips on how trustees can empower and galvanise the  leadership team, colleagues and donors behind a transformational plan.
  - How to nurture a positive, ambitious culture that delivers results. 
   

  Liz Tait, director of fundraising, Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity
• 3.20PM - 4.05PM
  4B. Surviving a statutory inquiry: an RNIB case study
  When Matt Stringer and Jessica Holifield joined the RNIB in 2019 and 2020 as CEO and head of governance respectively, they plunged straight into a high-profile statutory inquiry that had been opened by the Charity Commission in 2018 following concerns about governance and poor safeguarding at an RNIB school. In this session, they will share their experience of steering the organisation through this highly turbulent period – against the backdrop of Covid-19 – including how they dealt with the media scrutiny, shored up staff morale, rebuilt beneficiary confidence and worked constructively with the Charity Commission.

  
  Matt Stringer, chief executive and Jessica Holifield, director of legal and governance, RNIB
• 3.20PM - 4.05PM
  4C. 10 hallmarks of a modern and successful charity chair
  Chairing a board requires specific qualities and abilities in order to get the best out of the group both individually and collectively. The days of simple command and control are long gone, as leaders recognise the need to adapt their leadership style to different situations and personalities. John Williams is a highly experienced chair and trustee, and has compiled his list of top 10 values and characteristics that any great charity chair should possess.  This session is a must-attend for anyone who already chairs a board, as well as all those that aspire to do so.

   

  John Williams, chair of governors, Stanhope Primary School and former vice chair at Association of Chairs
• 4.10PM - 4.40PM
  Closing keynote: A new relationship between trustees and the Charity Commission
  In this closing session, Helen will provide an update on the Commission’s priorities, including its work to improve its use of data to better support trustees, and identify and tackle problems in charities. As part of this, she will set out the Commission’s vision for a new relationship with trustees, including through the My Commission Account service, which will be rolled out and developed in the months and years ahead.
   

  Helen Stephenson, chief executive, the Charity Commission
• 4.40PM - 4.45PM
  Chair's closing remarks
• 4.45PM - 5.45PM
  Networking drinks reception

All prices excluding VAT

For sponsorship and exhibition queries contact Matthew Nolan

For registration queries contact Carys Pugh

For media partnerships and marketing queries contact Kirsty Brown

1. Payment
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2. Programming
   1. Please note that speakers and topics were confirmed at the time of publishing, however, circumstances beyond the control of the organisers may necessitate substitutions, alterations or cancellations of the speakers and/or topics. As such Civil Society Media Ltd reserves the right to alter or modify the advertised speakers and/or topics if necessary. Any substitutions or alterations will be updated on our web page as soon as possible.
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   1. On receipt of your booking form, your place is confirmed. Delegate substitutions are allowed. Refunds on cancellations will only be issued (less a 15% administration charge) up to and including 30 days prior to the event. Refunds will not be issued after this date. Confirmation of cancellations MUST be in writing and sent to [email protected]
   2. Individual registrants who registered as part of a discounted group registration are not eligible for refunds, unless the entire group cancels. Registrations may be transferred to another person from the same organisation at any time.
5. Postponement or Cancellation of the Event by the Organiser
   1. Should we have to cancel or postpone due to COVID-19 we will endeavour to give you as much notice as is reasonably possible.
   2. In the event that we have to postpone the Charity Finance Summit due to COVID-19, we will transfer your ticket to the next alternative date.