Julie Ridgway
“I used to undertake assurance work for large financial services organisations and even though there was challenge and technical complexity, it gave me little personal satisfaction. Sayer Vincent has enabled me to work with a tremendous range of not for profit organisations, all of whom have the goal of wanting to make a difference. Any sense that I contribute to their work does motivate me to want to do more for the sector.”
Julie is one of our senior audit managers. She joined Sayer Vincent in 2008, having held senior manager roles with other audit firms involved in the charity sector. Julie is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Diploma in Charity Accounting.
Julie’s audit clients include E-ACT, Meningitis Trust, Nationwide Foundation, Father Hudson’s Society, Gloucester Wildlife Trust and Women’s Aid Federation for England. Julie has many years’ experience of the challenges faced by international NGOs, is a member of the firm’s International charities specialist group and has led audit teams overseas. Many of her clients are involved in international development, including Send a Cow, Concern Universal and Railway Children.
Julie plays a key role in delivering our client development programme. She has led tailored training sessions for many charities, including sessions for grant makers outside the UK, and is responsible for providing courses for the Association of Charitable Foundations. Julie chairs our learning and development group and is a member of our technical group. These roles see Julie focusing on the development our staff to empower them to deliver excellent client service as well as remaining up-to-date on relevant matters.
Julie has been a trustee with several charities, including a branch of the Samaritans and Emmaus (a charity working with homeless people). This gives Julie a deep appreciation of the demands of being a trustee. As an active volunteer, Julie knows the value of such resources and delivers training sessions for volunteers to prepare them for their work.
“All I want to do is read their accounts properly! Fascinating stuff and so illuminating. I can see now how much I can glean now from the accounts. It will really transform what I do and, most importantly, ensure we're giving our limited funds to organisations that will spend it wisely - Thanks again.”
Quote from a delegate who attended an Association of Charitable Foundations course