Charities Conference
The charity sector is constantly evolving and changing to respond to developing needs and gaps in public services. This changing landscape, coupled with a new Charities SORP later this year, means that accountants, auditors and independent examiners working with the sector need to stay abreast of hot topics in order to effectively support their clients.
Our Charities Conference morning session will cover regulatory updates from the Charity Commission, employment law and VAT, with a perspective from the sector. After lunch, we will look at hot topic in charity accounts, direct tax and lessons to be learnt from regulatory casework.
*If you are based in Scotland, please see our Scottish Charities Conference alternative.
Who should attend the conference
Mercia's Charities Conference is a must-attend event for any accountancy firms with Charity clients.
Through this one-day virtual conference, you will get practical advice about all the latest changes and challenges currently facing the charity sector. Hear from financial experts and charities on how you can add value to your clients.
Online Conferences
The on-demand version of this conference is now available to purchase separately from the Mercia Live event. This gives you the ability to catch up on technical updates at your convenience. If you've already registered for the live event, you'll now receive complimentary access to the recording.
Spring Offer: Save on your conference place
Enjoy a 15% discount on all one-day conferences - members save an additional 10%
The standard price is £415, but with this offer you'll save £62 per place. No codes needed - the discount is already applied. Members will get a further 10% discount when logged in.
More savings
Book three or more places and receive 20% off. Simply complete our form to claim this discount
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Full conference agenda
9.30am
Welcome and Introduction
Clair Tilston, Charity Commission
This session will cover:
- Charity Commission Regulatory Update: including updates to guidance, SORP development update and any other key updates on the Charity Commission's work.
10.20am
Refreshment Break
Nick Hobden, Thomson Snell & Passmore LLP
This session will cover:
- Harassment of employees in the workplace by third parties, new changes and new penalties which could impact a charity’s financial position.
- Restrictions on zero-hour contracts and the implications for charities engaging bank staff on zero hours contracts, which could increase costs for charities or rely on zero hours staff.
- Day one rights to unfair dismissal, the status of probationary periods and changes to statutory sick pay, meaning more costs to charities and potential difficulties in dismissing people.
- The ban on fire and re-hire unless there are particular circumstances which allow such a measure to be undertaken by employers, meaning it is more difficult to change terms and conditions of employment, like pay and hours.
11.25am
Refreshment Break
James Hurst, Mercia Group
This session will cover:
- A selection of VAT issues commonly encountered by charities. It will include an update on relevant topical items such as recent VAT tribunal decisions and HMRC policy changes that impact charities.
Sylvia Holder, Venkat Trust
This session will cover:
Sylvia will be discussing her personal experience in building a charity. Very unexpectedly, she impulsively committed herself to bringing education to a poor fishing village in South India. At the age of 65, she had just retired from running her own PR company in London and was looking forward to a leisurely lifestyle. That was 21 years ago. Her life turned out to be anything but leisurely and despite having no previous knowledge of working in India, charities or education, she has a remarkable story to tell.
12.50pm
Lunch Break
Peter Herbert, Insight Training
This session will cover:
- The preparation and scrutiny of charity accounts throws up many challenges. This session will update you on recent and forthcoming rule changes and also deal with a number of common problem areas. Topics covered will include: Latest updates on implementation of the revised SORP – effective 2026. Changes to charity audit limits – the direction of travel. Tricky accounting, audit and independent examination issues and how to tackle them. Latest professional body feedback on charity audits and independent examinations.
2.50pm
Refreshment Break
Jon Daley, Crowe U.K. LLP
This session will cover:
- A general update of recent tax developments relevant to the charity sector, together with a refresh of key tax pitfalls and opportunities for charities.
3.45pm
Refreshment Break
Gemma Archer, Mercia Group
This session will cover:
Examples of recent regulator caseworks and decisions to identify the lessons for both trustees of, and auditors, independent examiners and advisors to charities, and the responsibilities of independent examiners and auditors to report matters of material significance.
CPD Hours: 6
Conference speakers
Clare is a Senior Accountant at the Charity Commission providing expert advisory support to the Commission's regulatory cases and policy work. Prior to working at the Charity Commission she worked as a Forensic Accountant in BDO and Deloitte.
As head of the Employment, Charity, and Education sector teams at Thomson Snell & Passmore LLP, based in Kent (the oldest law firm in the world), Nick brings over 34 years of experience advising clients in the charity, education and social care sectors. Recognised consistently as a ‘Leader in the Field’ by Chambers & Partners (2011–2024) and listed in the Legal 500 directory Hall of Fame section as a leading lawyer, Nick is praised for his professionalism, attention to detail, and pragmatic approach to resolving complex issues.
Nick provides bespoke, strategic advice to navigate the unique challenges his clients face.
He advises extensively on employment, equality, and education governance law, providing practical and innovative solutions tailored to the needs of charities and their professional advisers. His expertise includes:
>Tribunal and High Court Claims: Successfully representing clients in Employment Tribunals and High Court actions, including cases involving restrictive covenants, breach of contract, and governance disputes. Nick takes a robust, outcome-focused approach, securing the best possible results even in challenging circumstances.
>Restructuring and Compliance: Guiding charities through complex business restructuring, governance reviews, and changes to employment terms and conditions. This includes advising on pay and benefits restructuring, grievance handling, whistleblowing, and disciplinary matters.
>Boardroom and Senior-Level Disputes: Advising on managed exits for senior leaders, trustees, and directors, helping resolve sensitive disputes while safeguarding the organisation's reputation and objectives.
>Sector-Specific Advice: Providing tailored guidance to charities on employment law and education governance issues, such as safeguarding, regulatory compliance, and leadership disputes, with a deep understanding of the intersection between governance and operational concerns.
Nick is approachable and reliable, frequently delivering clear, practical, and actionable advice ahead of deadlines. His breadth of experience instils confidence from the outset, making him a trusted adviser for organisations navigating the complexities of the charity and education sectors.
James joined Mercia in October 2022 as VAT trainer and consultant. His role involves writing technical material as well as devising and delivering VAT training courses. James has a wide experience of VAT and indirect tax, beginning his VAT career with HM Customs & Excise (as it then was) before moving to the private sector in 1995 and gaining his CTA qualification. Latterly, he had VAT partner and head of VAT roles in Grant Thornton and Mazars. James was actively involved with the Charity Tax Group for a number of years and has presented on VAT topics for the Charity Finance Group.
Outside of work, music remains a keen interest. Aside from playing jazz on the tenor sax, James is a regular member of the trumpet section of the Leeds Project Big Band.
Sylvia lived and worked in a number of countries before setting up Holder Swan Public Relations in London with fellow trustee Lindsay Swan. It was while in India on a business trip for a travel client that she met Venkat which 15 years later was to change her life dramatically and the lives of many others.She won The Times Sternberg Active Life Award in 2012 and was awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) in the 2018 New Year’s Honours for “services to education in Kovalam, India”.Together with Lindsay, Sylvia has co-authored a book Accidental Lives which tells the remarkable story that unfolded as a result of the chance meeting. It was published by Black Spring Press in November 2024.
Peter qualified as a Chartered Accountant with an international accountancy firm before working in industry. He has over 20 years of training experience. He writes and presents technical updates for firms of accountants and qualified accountants of private and listed companies. Peter specialises in financial reporting, auditing and practice regulation. Peter also regularly carries out compliance reviews for firms of accountants, which provides him with an invaluable insight into the practical financial reporting and auditing issues that they face.
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Jon has advised charitable organisations for over 14 years on a broad range of tax matters such charitable trading reviews, corporate restructures, international operating structures, Gift Aid processes and creative industry tax relief claims. At Crowe UK Jon works closely with advisers in the firm’s social purpose and non-profits function to provide complete advice to charities which cover tax issues in parallel with regulatory, commercial and other matters. Jon has a wide variety of experience across the charity sector, working with NGOs, educational bodies, grant making organisations, members’ clubs, religious orders, social enterprises and arts and cultural organisations. Jon is qualified as a chartered accountant and chartered tax adviser and has presented and contributed to a number of technical commentaries and seminars including with the ICAEW and Charity Finance Group. |
Gemma jointly leads the team responsible for Mercia’s file and compliance reviews, including performing reviews at client sites or remotely. She also lectures on Mercia’s Early Careers Programme and on specialist areas such as charities and academies, ESG and Mercia methodology, as well as advising clients on technical queries.
Gemma joined Mercia from audit practice in January 2021, where she had worked for 13 years, specialising in not-for-profit and charity clients for over a decade. Gemma has a keen interest in academies and sits on several ESFA working groups.
One Day Conference
Previous Charities Conferences
Explore the programme of our previous Charities Conferences:
