Blog

Accounting and reporting

29 January 2013, 16:45

'Tell me what I have to do...'

The Impact Leadership Conference, a new addition to the CFG calendar and a new collaboration with our partners NPC, promised to be challenging and exciting from the start. Impact is ...

Post byKatherine Smithson

The Impact Leadership Conference, a new addition to the CFG calendar and a new collaboration with our partners NPC, promised to be challenging and exciting from the start. Impact is highly topical, and following the work that has been done to cement some basic principles and ideas sector wide, it seemed timely to hold an event which would offer support to sector leaders that really want to take this on, to get better at it and to further develop peer learning. To say the least, there is varied understanding of impact in the sector. There are those that probably believe their organisations to be better at understanding and demonstrating their impact than in reality they are. Others are constantly striving to drive their organisations further forward in this area, constantly questioning and reviewing their approach. There are those that have adopted a range of technical evaluative approaches across projects and disciplines, and others that have looked at smaller sections of their work or have relied on case studies or qualitative data. There is no right or wrong approach; it all depends on context. In a way the more confident individuals or charities become with ‘impact’, the more philosophical the debate grows, along with the broadness of opportunities to explore. This makes for some fascinating self-reflection and discussion in a conference panel session. However, it can also put people in a difficult place if they are merely starting on the journey (as many identified themselves to be at the Impact Leadership Conference) and are unsure of what the destination is supposed to be. The ‘please just tell me what I have to do…’ individuals were always going to be taken out of their comfort zone at this particular event. So what should they definitely be taking away from the day if nothing else? The heart’s in the right place There is little doubt that charities care about their cause, it’s what they do day in, day out and it’s what they exist for. There is also little doubt that at the moment times are hard, and the pressure to keep the charity’s head above water often prevails. In a nervous atmosphere, where we fight for and squeeze more out of every penny just to maintain those services we provide, it would be a brave step from the leadership of any business to consider a full-on evaluation exercise – in a way, now is not the time. However, for many charities, it is the time. It has to be, because in a tumultuous financial environment key stakeholders are increasingly interested in what they are getting for their money. There was an elephant in the room – and that elephant was funding – a lot of those charities that want to look at impact in greater detail are driven to do so by their funding pressures. There is nothing wrong with this, we need funding, but how to empower these individuals to put these funding pressures in a secondary position compared to a bigger picture? David Robinson, our keynote speaker, started the day by telling us “I think we need to do measurement better and have a bigger reason for doing it – it isn’t just about fundraising. I think that reason is around our mission, above and beyond our organisational goals.” Impact ‘leadership’ So there is one thing to take away from the Impact Leadership Conference, look again at your motivations and think about how they can be realigned so that your work on impact fits with your long term aims. A second thing to take away is something about leadership. We hope that some of those that needed that bit extra guidance through this minefield went away from the day in a stronger position to navigate their organisation through it. The principles remain the same as always, stay proportionate to your organisation and its needs, look at evidencing your statements, learn from your evidence base, enable stakeholders to understand the story you are telling, and talk openly about how you are trying to get reach your goals. Deciding how to approach impact is not something that can be dictated. For additional guidance on deciding or improving on an approach to impact, please see 'The Principles of Good Impact Reporting' Â« Back to all blog posts

Blog

'Tell me what I have to do...'

Related Content

CFG Briefing: Budget 2021

Finance Focus January 2021

Finance Focus November/December 2020

Finance Focus October 2020

Welcome to IFR4NPO

Finance Focus September

Coronavirus: financial reporting issues for charities

How to guide: Covid 19 Charities SORP Committee Guidance

Charities and insolvency

Top ten tips for how to handle the year end in a pandemic

What’s new for audit and accountancy?

Why The Times is (mostly) wrong about charity reserves

Are charity reserves policies really clear enough?

Should you be asking for your auditor’s QAD score?

Why we’re launching an international accounting standard for charities?

Finance Focus July 2019

What the recent SCOTUS judge controversy can teach us about the Charities’ SORP

Annual Report 2017-18: Empowering Your People

Finance Focus May 2018

The key to good governance - truly understanding the business

CFG submits consultation response to Annual Return 2018 Survey

Sarah Atkinson - Have your say on the annual return for charities

Do I need a fraud response plan?

Fraud and the 3 C's

CFG has submitted a response to the Financial Reporting Council’s invitation to comment on the exposure draft of Practice Note 11: The Audit of charities in the United Kingdom (PN 11)

How can charities ensure they work towards gender equality in their organisation?

What can charities learn from the recent fraud cases?

Record management in charities: a toolkit for improvement

Annual Report 2016-17

IFS 2017 Green Budget – the good, the bad, and the worrying?

Responsible Record Keeping: what do voluntary organisations need to know?

Consultation response - Research exercise on charities SORP (FRS 102)

You must not miss your chance to shape the next SORP

CFG Consultation Response for Matters of Material Significance

Tony Armstrong looks at Devolution: working with local organisations to transform public services

Devolution is our chance to advocate for the most vulnerable

CFG's SORP Survey

Record management in charities: a toolkit for improvement

EU Referendum: What could this mean for charities?

Another day, another opportunity for charities to engage in a consultation

Friday Afternoon Fraud

Is the SORP FRS 102 working for you?

Which SORP is right for you?

Banking for Charities

Annual Report 2015-16

Hunting for the silver lining; the IFS, the economy and charities.

What did the Romans ever know about data protection?

Cuts to BLF could have big financial consequences for charity sector

What’s the risk? Implications of the summer budget for housing associations

Audit or independent examination?

Why is transparency and reporting important for charities?

A chance to restart the social investment conversation

Can charities help end the ‘pushmi-pullyu’ of local government spending to support prevention?

Caron’s comment: can profit and social change mix?

Audits, thresholds and transparency

Best foreign exchange practice for Charities and NGOs - white paper

Are charities losing their voice?

Vision for sector post-2015. What did the politicians have to say at the CFG Annual Conferece?

Making CFG fit for the future

Annual Report 2013-14

Accounting at the sharp end: A report from the Community Accountancy Conference 2014

'Professionalism' is not a dirty word

A change in economic outlook- is your charity sinking or swimming… tell us!

Accounting for different charity structures

CFG has its say on the Charities SORP consultation

CEO pay - the wrong reaction?

The silver lining in the charity salary saga

What’s really new about the new SORP?

Tweaking the annual return

Management Accounts: Parkinson's Point of Vanishing Interest

More of the wood, less of the trees: a trustee-centred approach to Management Accounts

Annual Report 2012-13

Reporting - Do you have the right tools for the job?

Inspiring financial leadership

Going global with charity reporting

Beyond Reserves

World Vision UK - Open Information Policy