News Release – Affordable Workshop Important for Small Charity Treasurers

Released January 2018

Mapplewell & Staincross Village Hall are putting on an affordable workshop specifically for small charity trustees and treasurers in the Barnsley area.

This follows discussions at Committee level where trustees for the Mapplewell & Staincross Village Hall charity expressed early concern that they would like more information about the ‘day to day’ implications of being a charity treasurer to give them the necessary skills needed to best serve the charity as a group.

Nick Hibberd, The Mapplewell and Staincross Village Hall Manager, said: “This role is a new position to me and I like to deal in hard facts. Asking any Management Team, including a Board of Trustees, to take on the responsibility of running a sizable charitable organisation without the necessary skills, I feel can put the whole operation at risk and leave Trustees feeling isolated and uninformed.

“As you will appreciate, as a Community centre directly and indirectly involved with a number of different charitable organisations that use the hall on a regular basis, we see this time and time again. Often Treasurers are nominated simply because they support a local cause but, unfortunately, many lack key skills that could take the Charity forward.

“This is why I have commissioned one of the UK’s leading charity specialists, Peter Brown, to hold a short four hour workshop in the Mapplewell & Staincross Village Hall on Friday the 9th February starting at 1pm,” he added.

Peter Brown is a Chartered Certified Accountant, and a registered auditor. He is also a holder of the prestigious Diploma in Charity Accounting granted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales.

As a former HM Sheriff of the City of York, and was an elected councillor for the City of York for 13 years, and a party group leader for two years. For most of the time he was on the council he was either chair or shadow chair of the committee that assessed and approved grant aid to the voluntary sector, and reviewing charity accounts was an important part of this process.

He is a former Vice Chair of the Council of the Association of Charity Independent Examiners (ACIE), one of the bodies recognised by the Charities Act 2011 as able to authorise their members to conduct independent examination.

He is also a member of the Medical Practitioners’ Tribunal Service (better known as the GMC) and is a Tribunal Member on the MPTS Fitness to Practice Tribunals, which adjudicate on complaints against members of the medical profession and reports to Parliament.

“Peter assures me that there are a number of Government schemes open to small charities and community sports clubs where an additional  percentage of funds donated can be legitimately reclaimed.

“As such, everyone that attends and pays the £15 booking fee, should leave the seminar with the ability to recover their costs and a lot more besides,” he added.

Tickets are limited and so you should call 01226 381006 to book prior to the event as tickets will be provided on a first come first served basis.

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