Charities Conference

Louise has been continuously involved in training and consultancy since 1987, both for professional firms and for commercial organisations. She also worked as an associate senior lecturer at the University of Portsmouth. Louise specialises mainly in aspects of practical employment law, company law and on professional negligence, and has published widely in leading academic and professional journals.

She is an associate of Complete HR Ltd, providing practical and pro-active assistance with employment and HR issues for SMEs.

Phil qualified in his home town of Sheffield. He worked for Financial Training for a number of years and was their midlands regional director before joining Mercia in 2001. He lectures to the accounting profession and to those in industry and commerce on accounting, auditing, and related legal and regulatory topics as well as specialising in charity and property accounting together with international accounting standards.

In his spare time, he now watches cricket and rugby as his playing days are behind him.

Jon is a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Adviser with more than 25 years experience. During his career he spent 9 years with a ‘Big 4’ firm during which he was part of their Charities Network advising a range of national and international charities and not-for-profit organisations. He is now leads Bishop Fleming’s charity tax services working with their clients on tax issues such as non-primary purpose trading, setting up trading subsidiaries and Gift Aid. He has experience of working with a wide range of charitable sub-sectors including higher and further education, academy schools, independent schools, social housing, visitor attractions, hospices, sports and wellbeing organisations, the creative industries, charitable foundations and membership organisations.

Chris joined the Stroke Association in September 2019, and became Executive Director for Finance in 2020.

Chris oversees all aspects of the charity’s financial management and business support.

After completing his Chartered Public Finance Accountant qualification in his native Scotland, Chris has had a long career of financial management within development, humanitarian and environmental organisations across Africa and Europe. He was the Group Finance Director of an International Homelessness Charity and the International Finance Director of a major environmental NGO.

Chris recently completed an MSc in Development Management including research on the impact of education programmes on poor, disabled and marginalised girls in rural Kenya.

Neil Owen is an independent consultant, speaker and occasional writer. He has specialised exclusively in VAT since 1984, when he joined HM Customs and Excise as a VAT officer. He entered professional practice in 1990, working for regional accountancy firms in the Thames Valley and Solent areas, before establishing his own VAT consultancy practice in 2007.

Neil has taken a close interest in VAT for academies for over ten years and continues to advise a number of clients in the sector, mainly MATs, on a regular basis

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.