Format
This course will be delivered via Zoom on 4 November 2025 from 1.00pm to 2.00pm. The Zoom link will be emailed to participants the day before the course is due to take place.
Who should attend
This webinar is ideal for charity or non-profit
organisation trustees, accountants, auditors, and other professionals serving or
aspiring to serve on charity or non-profit organisation boards or committees. It
is also suited to leaders in the charity and non-profit sector, including heads
of finance, compliance, and advisors, seeking to understand the evolving
financial, governance, and ethical landscape for charties, and how accountants can drive trusted, transparent,
and effective board decision-making.
Course Overview
Participants will gain an understanding of the
following key topics:
- Overview of key Charities SORP updates and
implications
- Common financial governance and compliance issues in
charities
- Regulator Insights from the Charity Commission of
Northern Ireland
- Technical update and guidance from Chartered
Accountants Ireland
- Real-world trustee perspectives on excercising
effective oversight
- Volunteering effectively on charity boards
- Understanding risk and internal control expectations
- Strengthening ethical and transparent decision-making
on boards of charities and non-profit organisations
- Building public trust through sound financial
stewardship
- Opportunity to pose questions to a live panel
discussion
Key Learning outcomes
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- High level overview of 2025 Charities SORP changes
- Identify key governance and compliance challenges in Charities
- Insights on how to strenghten financial oversight and risk management
practices in charities
- Advice on making the most of volunteering on a charity or non-profit
organisation board or committee
- Perspectives on how to uphold professional ethics and enhance stakeholder
trust in charities and non-profit organisations.
Speaker Bios
Níall Fitzgerald FCA – Níall is Head of Ethics and Governance for Chartered Accountants
Ireland. In addition to this role, he is a non-executive director, board
committee chair, and Judge on the Irish Good Governance Awards for the charity
and non-profit sector. He is co-founder of Chapter Zero Ireland, a non-profit
organisaiton established to assist delivery of the World Economic Forum’s
Climate Governance Initiative by building a community of non-executive directors
and equipping them to lead crucial boardroom discussion on the impacts of
climate change. Níall previously worked with PwC and before progressing to work
in management consulting, advising in relation to provision of professional
services, policy and internal control development and corporate governance. He has worked
in Europe, USA and Canada with organisations such
as PwC and McKinsey & Company.
Mike O'Halloran –
Technical Manager, Members and Advocacy, for Chartered Accountants Ireland
Rossa Keown, Head of Compliance and Enquiries. Rossa was
appointed to the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland in August 2021 as Head
of Compliance and Enquiries. He is responsible for leading the Commission’s
annual reporting regime of all registered charities in Northern Ireland and
leading the enquiry function to include investigation of the mismanagement of
charities. In his role, he also sits as one of the joint chairs of the Charities
SORP making body.
Gemma Daly Non Executive Director and Audit Committee
Member. Gemma is a Chartered Accountant with over 25 years of
experience in financial reporting, audit, and governance. A former Executive
Director at EY, she has worked extensively with Irish and European
multinationals, including a two-year assignment in the U.S. She now serves as a
non-executive director and sits on several audit and risk committees, including
at Maynooth University. Gemma is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and holds a
BA in Accounting & Finance from DCU
Contact us
If you have any questions regarding this or any other CPD course or
requirements, please feel free to contact the team here or call us at (+353) 01 523 3930
Note for Legacy CPA Members
Members who joined Chartered Accountants Ireland following1 September 2024,
please continue to book on the CPA Portal here to ensure you receive your membership
discount
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