Charity Consultants ~ York

Our mission is to help steer your charity along the paths

of finance, regulation, governance and strategy

The Kubernesis Partnership LLP offers a wide range of services for small to medium charities and their advisers in the areas of:

• Charity accounting and financial management - including the Charities SORP
• Applying charity law - including the Charities Acts 1993/2006, and equivalents in Scotland and Northern Ireland
• Fundraising appeals
• Charity formations and legal issues (including new Charitable Incorporated Organisations - CIOs - as soon as they are implemented)
• Independent examination of charity accounts
• VAT and other tax issues for charities
• Training seminars on charity finance and regulation
• Strategic planning and evaluation for charitable organisations.

We work with many different types of non-profit organisations: registered charities, excepted charities, organisations working towards charitable status, social enterprises, and other voluntary organisations, primarily in Yorkshire and NE England, although we also undertake some work with Scottish and Northern Irish charities - we have experience of both charity law and accounting across all UK jurisdictions.

Services

WHAT KUBERNESIS OFFERS

As a small firm of charity consultants, the aim of The Kubernesis Partnership is to offer a single source of assistance across a range of issues concerned with charity accounting, fundraising, legal/ constitutional issues, and strategy.

Our emphasis is with small and medium charities, in these areas:

• Consultancy services can range from a half-day session with charity trustees, to the support of a major appeal or evaluation over several years, and from handling the formation of a new charity to helping a charity address issues raised by the Charity Commission.
• Kubernesis Training Seminars are open one-day courses on issues of charity accounting and regulation - see below for topics.
• We offer a service as Independent Examiner of charity accounts - including preparing accounts under the Charities Act rules (for years ending 31 March 2008 onwards, under the Charities Act 2006 we are qualified to undertake independent examinations up to £500,000, and for accounting years ending 31 March 2009 onwards we can also act for charitable companies)
• The Kubernesis Charity Advice Service allows a charity to have access to Kubernesis update briefings and assistance with queries for a fixed annual subscription.

In all our work we are strongly committed to professional standards, including the codes of conduct of the bodies to which we belong.

THE TEAM

Dr Gareth Morgan MA BA PhD FAIA(Acad) FBCS MInstF(Cert) FCIE is the Senior Partner, responsible for our consultancy work. He is an experienced course leader and writer on charity accounting and regulation. He has led a number of fundraising appeals, and assisted charities with tax and VAT reviews. He followed every step of the process which led to the Charities Act 2006 and the Companies Act 2006 (in terms of its impact on charities) and he helped to draft several amendments which Parliament accepted.  He is the author of The Charity Treasurer's Handbook: An Introduction to Voluntary Sector Finance and Accounting (DSC 2nd edn 2008) and of The Charities Act 2006: A Guide for Foundations and Grant-Making Trusts (ACF 2007) - see below to order copies of these.  He has written many specialist articles in the field of charity finance and legal issues.  He has extensive experience as independent examiner of charity accounts, including wide experience of training others for this work, and he served for five years as General Secretary to the Association of Charity Independent Examiners.  In addition to his work with the Kubernesis Partnership he holds a part-time academic position as Professor of Charity Studies at Sheffield Hallam University (SHU), where he leads the SHU Centre for Voluntary Sector Research.

Sharon Morgan BA CertTh is the Partner responsible for day to day operational activities. She has many years of involvement in the voluntary sector. She is a graduate in communication studies, and has extensive experience of pastoral work with a range of charitable organisations, including the support and training of volunteers.  She is a specialist on bereavement issues, and on the spiritual needs of older people.

Other staff provide administrative support when needed, especially in relation to seminars and events.

TRAINING SEMINARS AND MINI-CONFERENCES

We hold a range of one-day events in York for people dealing with accounting and constitutional issues in the charity sector. For 2008/09 we are holding two specialist seminars - mini-conferences - to provide detailed updates on the latest changes in charity law and accounting.

• Charity Accounting: The New Framework from 2008  Wed 5 November 2008
• Charity Law, Structures and Regulation: Update for 2009  Wed 11 February 2009

These are full day events (10.30-4.30) at a modern location in York.  The cost of places on either event is just £140 inclusive (or £125/place for multiple bookings) including lunch and refreshments and extensive handouts.  Both events will be led by Dr Gareth Morgan.  Numbers are limited to a maximum of 18 on each day to allow plenty of scope for questions and discussion.

To check availability or make a telephone booking please call 01904 788885 or e-mail training@kubernesis.co.uk.  Please click on the link full details and booking form for these Kubernesis Training Events on the seminars (PDF, 2 pages, 17Kb).

However, the majority of our training work is in presentation of external seminars on issues of charity law and financial management.  Dr Gareth Morgan is frequently invited to present specialist one day courses for voluntary sector umbrella bodies - or to speak at events organised by other professional firms for their charity clients.  Please contact us for details of current topics or if you have a particular request.

PUBLICATIONS

Gareth Morgan is the author of a wide range of articles and two books relevant to our work.  Copies of the books are available from The Kubernesis Partnership.

A second edition of The Charity Treasurer's Handbook: An Introduction to Voluntary Sector Finance and Accounting was published in spring 2008.  Copies can be ordered directly from Kubernesis Partnership - the order form can be downloaded here.  The cost is just £14.40 including p&p and we can accept payment by cheque or credit/debit card (call 01904 788885 to place a card order by phone).

The first edition (published in 2002) has sold many thousands of copies, and the publishers (Directory of Social Change) invited Gareth Morgan to prepare a new edition for 2008.  The SECOND EDITION contains around 30% more content - it is fully updated for the Charities Act 2006, Charities and Trustee  Investment (Scotland) Act 2006, and the Charities  SORP 2005 –  including the changes effective from April 2008.  It covers the latest changes for charitable companies and the new CIO structure.  It also includes more on accounting for full cost recovery, grant versus contract income, partnership working (including new VAT issues) and gift aid changes.

Also available: The Charities Act 2006: A Guide for Foundations and Grant-Making Trusts in England & Wales.  Costing £11.00 including P&P this book was published by Association of Charitable Foundations in spring 2007.  Click here for the order form - or call 01904 788885 to place a credit/debit card order by telephone.

For anyone seeking an overview of the Charities Act 2006 which goes beyond the sort of guidance available from the Charity Commission but without resorting the legal tomes: it is a very comprehensive guide.  It covers issues related to charities of all kinds - grant-making trusts need to understand the Act both from their own point of view and in terms of its impact on the groups they support.

About The Kubernesis Partnership

THE NAME

The word Kubernesis comes from Greek for a person who guides or steers a ship on the right course - hence the ship's wheel on our logo. It is used in the Bible (1 Cor 12.28) and is the root of the modern word "governance". Our aim in Kubernesis is to help steer your organisation through the often complex waters of charity accounting, financial management, fundraising regulation, charity law, trustee responsibilities, and other governance issues.

THE ORIGINS AND FOCUS OF OUR WORK

The firm was founded in 1979; our focus on the voluntary sector began in 1982, and for the last 20 years virtually all our work has been with charities and voluntary organisations.  In 2004 we marked 25 years of providing specialist professional services and in 2008 we became an LLP.

Since our beginnings, the range of charity-specific advice and consultancy handled by Kubernesis has grown widely. We are now recognised as specialists in the whole range of financial, legal and fundraising issues for small/medium charities and we also take on some specialist work with larger charities.  We played a major role in the consultations on reform of charity law in the 1990s, and since 1995, when the main Charities SORP was issued, we have provided a huge range of training and practical support to allow small/medium charities and their advisers to deal with the requirements.

From 2000 with the tax changes and the emergence of new gift aid, we have advised widely on charity tax issues and are specialists in the tax and VAT issues on charity trading. We have led fundraising appeals and assisted charities with constitutional changes, mergers and investigations.  We helped many clients with setting up new charities whether charitable trusts, charitable associations, or charitable companies.  Now that the Charities Act 2006 is law, once its provisions start to take full effect we will soon be offering a service to assist in the establishment of Charitable Incorporated Organisations (whether for new organisations, or existing organisations wishing to convert to become CIOs).

We are fully prepared to help charities (and prospective charities) with the implications of the Charities Act 2006 (for England and Wales) and the Charity and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 both of which are now law and with those aspects of the Companies Act 2006 applicable to charities.  During the passage of this legislation we assisted with several submissions and were involved in drafting amendments and observing Parliamentary Committees.  In the meantime, significant changes to charity accounting were introduced in the Charities SORP 2005 - we were involved in the consultations which led to this, and on the associated regulations, and are equipped to help charities implement its requirements.

We can also advise charities on income-generating activities, including the tax issues and the boundaries between charity and social enterprise (we do considerable work with charities on VAT issues) and where appropriate, we can assist with setting up Community Interest Companies (CICs) for non-charitable social enterprise work.

THE CHARITIES WE ASSIST

Over the years we have worked with hundreds of different charitable organisations: disability groups, educational and health charities, voluntary sector support bodies, grant-making trusts, churches, women's refuges, youth projects, medical charities, arts organisations and many others.

TERMS FOR SERVICES AND ORDERS FOR PUBLICATIONS

Terms for our various services are available on request. All consultancy work is undertaken on an hourly or daily fee basis: our terms reflect our specialist expertise, but seek to be accessible to charitable organisations; in most cases they are attractive compared to other sources of professional help. For independent examinations we have a fixed priced schedule based on the charity's income and complexity.

• Current terms for the Kubernesis Charity Advice Service are £150 per annum, with a 20% discount (40% for small charities) on subsequent renewals.
• Kubernesis Training Events - places on the 2008/09 mini-conferences (see above) are £140 for single places or £125 for multiple bookings
• Copies of The Charity Treasurer's Handbook: An Introduction to Voluntary Sector Finance and Accounting 2nd edn are available for £14.40 including p&p.
• Copies of The Charities Act 2006: A Guide for Foundations and Grant-Making Trusts in England & Wales are £11.00 including p&p.

We can accept payments by cheque (payable to Kubernesis Partnership LLP) or by credit/debit card. (All figures given are fully inclusive.)

For more information

Please call 01904 788885 or e-mail info@kubernesis.co.uk for more details of:

• Forming new charities or assistance with constitutional changes.
• Consultancy services with regard to charity accounting and financial management
• Assistance in dealing with charity investigations, reviews and issues from the Charity Commission.
• Independent examination of charity accounts
• Advice on charity tax issues including VAT
• Kubernesis Charity Advice Service
• Fundraising consultancy - with a particular focus on gift aid schemes and on wine-related fundraising
• Forthcoming Kubernesis Training Seminars
• Publications

The Kubernesis Partnership LLP Charity Consultants
36 Acomb Wood Drive York YO24 2XN  UK
Tel:	01904 788885
Fax:	01904 339117
Website:	www.kubernesis.co.uk
E-mail:	info@kubernesis.co.uk

A limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales number OC340834.    Website last updated: 31 Oct 2008