Last week we attended the fabulous CFG Annual Conference in London. As usual it was a fantastic event led by Caron and the team at CFG, with over 700 attendees from the world of charity finance enjoying the day. This is certainly the biggest event we have attended, and it served as a real reminder of the volume of driven and resilient people we have in our amazing sector!
From a recruitment perspective it’s a great chance to network - but also an opportunity to keep up to date on sector challenges, developments, and opportunities. There were over 20 expert-led sessions across multiple streams covering technical finance issues, governance, strategy, digital/AI and people & culture topics.
David Holdsworth, CEO at the Charity Commission led the opening plenary and outlined the funding challenges faced by the sector in the current climate. David also spoke about the new Charity Commission guidance on Trustees in the sector – these are in the form of short 5-minute YouTube videos and are well worth checking out if you’re considering becoming a Trustee. We also learned that the oldest Almshouse charity in the UK is over 1000 years old!
Unsurprisingly SORP was hot on the agenda in the technical streams, with several of the sessions tackling the upcoming regulatory changes that will come into effect in January 2026. The accounting bodies, and CFG themselves have been critical of the changes, voicing concerns over the complexity and onerous nature of the reporting. Nevertheless, charities need to prepare for these changes in the coming months. Headline points around the SORP changes are the introduction of a 3-tiered system based on a charity’s income – sub £500k, £500k-£15 million, and over £15 million – with more detailed reporting required from the two higher tiers. Changes will include more emphasis on impact reporting, legacy income reporting and explanations of reserves policies.
Another prominent theme of the day was technology and AI – the tone being that charities should see tech and AI as a catalyst for improving fundraising and income generation, not an unwanted cost. Charities were urged to invest in data, correctly set-up their systems and then measure results properly. Many charities currently have disjointed systems, a lack of data strategy and unknown or estimated income drivers and fundraising returns. A mindset shift in finance and fundraising teams is needed to remedy this.
From a recruitment, people and culture perspective we attended 2 great sessions on building winning teams and creating an engaged workforce. Bims Alalade, Director, People & Culture at Institution of Mechanical Engineers explained how ongoing investment in your staff is crucial to attract and retain talent in today’s working environment. Bims emphasised the importance of well-defined job descriptions, a thorough and engaging 360 induction programme for new starters, employing a wellbeing officer, asking for feedback from staff – and most importantly creating a values-based and inclusive culture that is consistent throughout the entire organisation. We also heard how the wonderful charity Scope have ditched their traditional staff appraisal policy that relied on grading and ranking in favour of a coaching-based approach to staff reviews focused on collaboration and development.
We’ll be back next year for the 2026 edition!
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