Join us for this one-hour event asSCVO Pro Bono Service partners Azetslook at how to understand VAT.

Tracey Bird, Information Officer, at SCVO will host this webinar and be joined by guest speakerScott Craig, Partner and Head of VAT, at Azets. We will discuss thepros and cons of VAT registration, what is exempt, when you can and can’t recover VAT, and what reliefs are available for charities.

Chaired by Kieran Daly,Head of Market Building, Social Investment Scotland, this 90-minute online event will include a discussion with our panel of guest speakers:

· Jason Glass, Director of Operations, Camphill Blair Drummond;

· Laura Anderson, Head of Professional Advice and Intelligence, OSCR;

· Scott J Jeffrey, Partner, Johnston Carmichaeland ICAS Associate.

We reallywant tohear your views too, so following the panel discussion all of the participants will gointo breakout rooms tocontinue the conversation in smaller groups.

This interactive online course covers tools and techniques to get the best out of your people including delegation skills, team engagement and holding people to account. You will learn active listening and good questioning techniques, fundamental to handling difficult conversations and people.It will share the five steps to having great delivery conversations and how to adapt your approach to different people and scenarios.We explore how to create working environments where people feel empowered and engaged.

This online course provides the next step for managers looking to develop their skill and gain professional recognition to aid future career development. The course covers information based decision making and managing team performance giving managers a rounded skills set and providing a foundation to work towards the diploma and Chartered Manager status.

Participants will be guided through a workbook in Management and Leadership, with additional support from the trainer throughout, to translate your learning and experience into tangible evidence of your leadership skills.

For the duration of your studies participants will have access toManagement Direct, whichis alearning platform designed for managers and business leaders.Whether you are a manager focused on professional development, or part of a senior management team wishing to empower staff thislearning hub allows you to take your own learning journey, enriching your training experience through a variety of online resources and educational tools.

This online course is packed full of content to help you identify and understand what is required to build a strong financial foundation.

Basic financial roles and responsibilities:The Board’s responsibility for good financial governance; The financial manager’s role; Staff and volunteers.

Who uses the financial information and how:The Board, Treasurer and/or Finance Sub-group; Internally – The manager/management team, Project staff and Fundraising staff; Externally – Funders, Accountants/auditors, OSCR and Companies House.

What we need our financial package to do:Information for monitoring current performance; Information for planning forward; Information for external reporting; Choosing a suitable financial package and setting it up to be useful; Restricted funds – recording for easier reporting; Effective use of the reports function.

Effective systems and control:“Walking through” your financial processes; Considering financial risks and effective internal control; Getting other staff to play their part and make your life easier; Recording financial processes – why and how.

Dealing with external requirements:Reporting to funders; Reporting to OSCR; Reporting to Companies House.

This online course will providean introduction tothe tools required to plan, deliver and evaluate effective training.Anne Whitefordwill guide you through the 3 sessions so you willgain the confidence to design and deliver learning to individuals and small groups.

Session 1

Managing Learning Experiences

• The Training Cycle.
• How Adults Learn: The Kolb Learning Cycle; Learning Styles.

Developing a Learning experience

• Training Methods: Tools; Icebreakers; Energisers.
• Review and Evaluation: Kirkpatrick's 4 levels of evaluation.

Session 2

Managing Groups

• The group process.
• Group dynamics.

Leading groups to facilitate learning

• Skills and characteristics of trainers and facilitators.
• Managing challenging situations.

Session 3

Putting it into practice

• Developing a training event in teams.
• Presentation to the other groups.
• Review of the task.
• Review of the learning.

This online course is packed full of content to help you understand the importance of good financial management.

Budgeting:Why we need a realistic budget; Thinking about the different types of costs; Setting budgets; Making sure it all stacks up.

Full cost recovery:Why we need to use full cost recovery; Practical use of FCR; How this can be used for costing services.

Budget monitoring and reporting:Monitoring – actual v budget; What do variances tell us; Reporting to the Board; Using budget monitoring internally.

Cashflow projections:Purpose of cashflow projections; Constructing a simple cashflow; Cashflows as an options’ appraisal tool.

This course will help you to understand the components of project stages and lifecycles. It will provide an understanding of project methodologies and their application, teaching you how to develop a project plan, identify/mitigate risks and construct a strategy for monitoring/review. You will leave with an understanding of the following areas and the tools required to:

1. Define the stages of a project and develop an understanding of a project lifecycle from conception to commissioning/hand over. Using this knowledge, assess where projects fit into operational activities.
2. Develop the ability to use various approaches and tools to manage a project and understand how to use these to form a business case and engage sponsors. This will include how to create an effective management environment/culture to support projects and identification of effective communication methods for each shareholder.
3. Design a project plan to achieve a specified objective. This will include financial components such as risk appraisal for effective project design and control as well as a monitoring and review strategy for a project that assesses impact and achievement.

Part 1 - New ways of working with words:You will learn how to add va-va voom to written content and use essential tools to improve your content writing skills and learn how to break bad writing habits to create engaging, attention-grabbing wordy content for use online and in print. Exercises include: crafting a personal profile websites and LinkedIn; creating an eye-catching About Us introduction; and a case study - how to bring real people to life.

Part 2 - Working magic with words:You will work on structure, narrative flow, and eye-catchingheadlines and openers, and begin to add colour to written pieces with the inclusion of time, location, real people and senses. You’ll write a longer blog piece and practice adapting and “repurposing" content to promote your piece on social media using some snappy, attractive content. Exercises will include: an introductory paragraph to a newsletter; a blog; and social media posts to promote traffic to your blog.

This online course is packed full of content to give you an overview of annual accounts and external reporting.

Financial reporting requirements:Statutory reporting requirements; Audit/independent examination levels; Format of accounts and thresholds – Receipts & Payments or SORP-compliant.

Understanding financial statements:Format of the annual accounts; Overview of a set of SORP-compliant accounts; Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA); Balance sheets and notes to financial statements.

The Trustees Annual Report:Format and content; How it links to the financial statements; What makes a good TAR.

Reserves:What’s included in reserves; Building up reserves; The reserves’ policy.

Reporting to regulators:Reporting to OSCR; Reporting to Companies House; Notifying changes; Sharing information with the public.