Manchester hosts major seminar to help charities through tough economic times

A keynote seminar to advise charities on tackling the economic downturn is to take place next week in Manchester.

Organised by the Charities and Social Enterprise Unit of Brabners Chaffe Street LLP, Manchester-based chartered accountants Beever and Struthers and HSBC, the event will feature four experts from the financial and charity sector.

The experts will outline how charities can address issues arising from the downturn via HR strategies to maximise performance and measures to protect their organisations from the chill wind of recession.

They will discuss the “Public Benefit Test” – outlining what the test is and how to deal with it in annual reports and accounts, helping charities to understand and prepare for this significant change. The speakers will also address the issue of ‘Finding the right investment strategy.’

The speakers include Maria Hallows, partner at Beever and Struthers, Marcus Difelice, partner with the employment law team at law firm Brabners Chaffe Street; Stephen Claus, partner in Brabners Chaffe Street’s charity and social enterprise team, and Nicholas Reid, director at HSBC Charities.

“The Public Benefit Test is set to have a major impact on UK charities, as it requires each organisation to demonstrate its purpose and the benefits it brings to a sufficient section of the public,” said Stephen Claus, partner Brabners Chaffe Street. “Understanding how to meet these requirements over the next financial year will be a critical undertaking for charities of all sizes.”

Maria Hallows said: “Charities, like most businesses, are keen to know more about what they can do to survive and even thrive in these testing times.”

The seminar takes place from 8:00am to 10:30am on Thursday 5th February at HSBC in Spinningfields. To attend please call Helen Calvert on 0161 836 8883 for a booking form or email helen.calvert@brabnerscs.com

-ENDS-

For more information contact Michael Travers at SKV Public Relations on 0161 838 7770 or email michael.travers@skvpr.co.uk

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 29th, 2009 at 9:00 am and is filed under Beever and Struthers, Client News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.