Course descriptions and dates

Note that courses are repeated throughout the year. If you are interested in attending a course, but can’t make the advertised dates, fill out the online booking form. In the final box state which current dates aren’t suitable and that you would like to be placed on our mailing list.

You may attend any course (we provide details of which boroughs courses are in as this may reduce your travel time).

Ealing = Ealing, K&C = Kensington & Chelsea, H&F = Hammersmith & Fulham, T/H = Tower Hamlets, W = Westminster.

Financial administration (Five days)

A five day course (or can be taken individually) on how to write a budget, set-up and maintain a simple bookkeeping system, administer petty cash, reconcile the books with a bank statement and produce a finance report for a management committee that analyses expenditure against the budget.

Westminster 03, 10, 17 & 24 February and 03 March 2010

Kensington & Chelsea 10, 17 & 24 June and 01 & 08 July 2010

Ealing 22, 29 April; 06, 13 & 20 May 2010

Hammersmith & Fulham 03, 10, 17 & 24 February 2010 and 03 March 2010

Tower Hamlets 16, 18, 23, 25 February and 02 March 2010. To achieve the Government-recognised accreditation Certificate, participants must attend all 6 (5 days) modules. Please indicate if you are interested in accreditation.

Preparing budgets and cash flow (one day)

How to prepare a small budget. What are overheads, direct costs and contingencies? How does a cash flow work? Will break even analysis help your organisation? Budgets are used for grant applications and your internal financial control.

Westminster 03 February 2010
Kensington & Chelsea 10 June 2010
Ealing 22 April 2010
Hammersmith & Fulham 03 February 2010
Tower Hamlets 16 February 2010

Basic bookkeeping (one day)

Setting up a simple bookkeeping system, choosing analysis column headings and their relationship to the budget, filing invoices and records of income, cheque signatures and controls, bank reconciliation, petty cash imprest system and cash income. Designed for small organisations.

Westminster 10 February 2010
Kensington & Chelsea 17 June 2010
Ealing 29 April 2010
Hammersmith & Fulham 10 February 2010
Tower Hamlets 18 February 2010

We encourage people who attend basic bookkeeping to also attend Bank Reconciliation and Petty Cash.

Bank reconciliation (half day, 9.50am)

Bank reconciliation checks the accuracy of your cash book entries and bank statements. The module can be taken by itself or as part of basic bookkeeping.

Westminster 17 February 2010
Kensington & Chelsea 24 June 2010
Ealing 06 May 2010
Hammersmith & Fulham 17 February 2010
Tower Hamlets 23 February 2010

Petty cash (half day, 1.50pm)

The imprest system, choosing column headings, changing the size of the float, accounting for cash income, controls to prevent fraud.

Westminster 17 February 2010
Kensington & Chelsea 24 June 2010
Ealing 06 May 2010
Hammersmith & Fulham 17 February 2010
Tower Hamlets 23 February 2010

Finance reports for management committees – Management Accounts (one day)

Producing a receipts and payments account from the bookkeeping system, comparing this statement to the budget, analysing variances and producing a statement of current assets and liabilities.

Westminster 24 February 2010
Kensington & Chelsea 01 July 2010
Ealing 13 May 2010
Hammersmith & Fulham 24 February 2010
Tower Hamlets 25 February 2010

Final Accounts (one day)

You will learn how to turn a receipts and payment account into an income and expenditure account by bringing in accruals, including creditors, debtors and prepayments. The statement will also analyse restricted funds. You will also produce a balance sheet including depreciation of fixed assets.

Westminster 03 March 2010
Kensington & Chelsea 08 July 2010
Ealing 20 May 2010
Hammersmith & Fulham 03 March 2010
Tower Hamlets 02 March 2010

Marketing for voluntary organisations (one day)

Increasing demand for your services can reduce unit costs. Getting the right users can combat poverty and social exclusion. The course will examine promotion, communication and competition. It will also look at strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats – as well as change.

Contact us for details of courses running later in the year.

End of year tax returns (half day, 9.50am)

Completing the Inland Revenue end of year PAYE tax return. How to complete forms P35, P60, P14, P38a, P9D and P11.

Kensington & Chelsea 14 April 2010

Preparing for independent examination and audit (half day, 9.45am)

Preparing books and providing appropriate schedules can reduce costs. The course includes Charities Act Regulations and where the charity fits in, financial records, schedules, wages control, accruals, prepayments, opening and closing entries, creditors, debtors, banking, petty cash and confirmation.

Kensington & Chelsea 12 May 2010;

Hammersmith & Fulham 26 May 2010

Social Enterprise (One day)

This course is for charities, community groups and voluntary organisations thinking about financial self-sufficiency through trading and other forms of social enterprise. It will explore what is and isn’t allowed in the way of trading by charities; what becoming a social enterprise involves, legal forms which social enterprises can take, including Community Interest Companies and Community Benefit Societies and altrnative sources of finance, including taking loans and selling shares.

Ealing TBA

Kensington & Chelsea TBA

Finance for Non-Financial Managers (One day)

This course will take you through the financial cycle. From setting objectives and budgeting to preparing annual accounts, with particular emphasis on comparing actual income and expenditure with budgeted income and expenditure as a management tool.

Ealing TBA

Kensington & Chelsea 31 March 2010

Quick Books, Computerised Accounts (two days)

For organisations with turnovers over £100,000. You must be used to using a computer and have experience of bookkeeping on a regular basis.

Kensington & Chelsea: 16 & 23 March 2010.

SAGE, Computerised Accounts (two days)

For organisations with turnovers over £100,000. You need an understanding of double-entry bookkeeping which can be gained through Pitmans or your local College of Further Education. You must be used to using a computer and have experience of bookkeeping on a regular basis.

Kensington & Chelsea: 24 & 31 March; 16 & 23 June 2010

Excel (one day)

Beginner’s and intermediate’s days. Budgets, bookkeeping, cash flows, formulae and graphs using a computer spreadsheet. You must be familiar with a computer keyboard.

Kensington & Chelsea (Beginners) 21 July 2010

Kensington & Chelsea (Intermediate) 28 July 2010

Understanding Annual Accounts (half day, 9.50am)

If you have to make sense of charity accounts, and/or explain them to others, then this is the course for you. It will enable you to identify the different components of your annual report and accounts; interpret the funds position of your organisation; determine the overall financial position of your organisation and translate accounting terms into plain English.

Hammersmith & Fulham TBA
Kensington & Chelsea TBA

Introduction to QuickBooks & Sage / Comparing Sage & QBooks (half day, 9.50am)

This course compares QuickBooks with Sage computerised accounts; the two most popular accounts packages in this sector. The course helps you decide which to choose.

Kensington & Chelsea TBA

Introduction to Charity Accounts – harmonised with Understaning Annual Accounts

What are the new changes to SORP 2005 trustees’ reports? This session covers the processes involved in preparing annual accounts, the role of the auditor / independent examiner and the presentation of financial information in line with SORP 2005.

Kensington & Chelsea (Harmonised with Understanding Annual Accounts – TBA)

Hammersmith & Fulham TBA

Full Cost Recovery (FCR)

An accounting process by which you learn the real cost of a project including overheads, like management time and office resources. It is part of project accouting and financial modelling. It will help your organisation to make better decisions, better use of resources, be more focused, fund core costs and argue the case for higher levels of funding.

Hammersmith & Fulham 17 March 2010

Kensington & Chelsea: 9 March 2010
E TBA

Fund & Project Accounting – half-day

This course considers the implications of Funders requirements to account separately for projects on your budgeting and book-keeping systems, and what this means in practice, whether you budget and keep your books on paper, or electronically. It will deal not only with the simple situation where it is one funder, one project, but also with more realistic situations where projects are funded by several funders, and with contributions from your group’s own resources. You will need to plan with a view to recovering, either from funders or by charging fees, the full cost of each project. To make the most of this course, you SHOULD have already attended a 1-day Full Cost Recovery Course (see above).

Kensington & Chelsea: 16 March 2010

Managing Multiple Projects (half day)

If you have several projects on the go at the same time, this course will help you to plan your programme of work so that each of your funders gets the right information from you at the right time and in the right format. It will go through the steps you need to take to identify the outputs from each project and then put these together into a programme of work and action plan so that you can not only deliver what you promised but also monitor your progress throughout the year in achieving the outputs.

Kensington & Chelsea: 8 April 2010

Financial Health Checks / Financial Controls

This course enables your organisation to pin point the weaknesses and strengths of your financial systems. It enables the determination of training requirements to buttress the weaknesses and build on your strengths. It teaches how to set up appropriate system to improve over-all efficiency and effectiveness of your financial system. It will improve governance and reduce risks of fraud and running out of money. Financial Controls looks at ways of establishing and maintaining a comprehensive system of appropriate and cost effective financial controls. The areas covered include: Basic Controls, Control of Incomings, Control of Outgoings and Control of Assets.

Kensington & Chelsea: 13 April 2010

Finance for Trustees (Evening 6pm to 8.30pm)

Understanding your annual accounts. What sort of written financial reports should you receive as a trustee and how frequently? How can you be sure the reports are accurate and what questions you should ask. Roles and responsibilities of trustees. Financial controls to reduce the risk of fraud and forecasting the future.

Kensington & Chelsea: TBA
Ealing: TBA
Hammersmith & Fulham: 24 March 2010

PAYE / Paying People

This course will cover: paying volunteers, and how much? Deducting tax and NIC from your employees’ wages; how to run a PAYE system; using a payroll bureau and how much it will cost. What local support is available in your borough? How can you/your members claim money back from HMRC. Is your tax code wrong, and if it is, how do you get it changed? When (and how) can you get extra money for your children by Working Families Tax Credits. Can your charity claim Gift Aid, and if so, how? etc.

Kensington & Chelsea: 27 April 2010

Last updated: Thu, Feb 25 2010 - 11:49:52 AM

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