One of the benefits of hosting our Charity Accountants Conference in November, is the chance to reflect on insights gained and use these to shape dynamic plans for the year ahead.  

Whilst Sayer Vincent and the Directory of Social Change (DSC) developed the programme to appeal to the whole charity finance community, regardless of tenure or experience, each day started by emphasising the importance and benefits of collaboration at the highest levels of an organisation. 

Stories reach hearts, statistics change minds.

We were privileged to start proceedings with a keynote from David Holdsworth, CEO of the Charity Commission. It was a session that set the tone for the whole event as he opened with the acknowledgment of the critical role of finance professionals in the sector.  

Recognising the vital impact that charities deliver within our society, and the need to effectively communicate this to government and other key decision makers, he remained mindful of the immense pressure’s that charities find themselves under and how, in this respect, the finance role has never been more important than it is today.  

At Sayer Vincent, we believe that sound financial reporting becomes great financial reporting when it tells the charity’s story, brings its purpose to life, and celebrates its impact. Achieving this requires collaboration across a charity’s leadership team. This was a theme we explored on day two, when we welcomed CEOs of four distinct charities to join a panel discussion looking at ‘what CEO’s really want from their finance director’, and ‘what keeps CEOs awake at night and what finance teams can do to help mitigate those fears’. 

It was clear throughout the panel that strong relationships between CEOs and their finance leaders are crucial. The panel explored how effective finance leaders can bring a unique blend of trustworthiness and constructive challenge to an organisation, ultimately helping their CEOs to guide the organisation away from avoidable risks.  

Concerns about an organisation’s long-term financial health, challenges affecting income streams, the need for effective planning to mitigate unforeseen events, and making strategic investments to drive growth are all pressing issues for charity CEOs. However, the discussion highlighted that when the finance team is trustworthy, empowered with autonomy, free to challenge, flexible in its approach, and able to communicate key information to the CEO at the right time, the c-suite can collectively become a powerful force for good within the organisation.