Our annual Charity Accountants Conference in November provided a valuable opportunity to pause and reflect on the state of the sector – where we’ve come from, the challenges we’re navigating, and the opportunities ahead. With an opening keynote from Simon Hopkins on the changing face of charity finance, the scene was set for a thoughtful and wide-ranging discussion.
Here, Jonathan Orchard shares his key takeaways.
It’s no secret that it remains a tough environment for many charities. Economic pressures – from the cost-of-living crisis to sluggish growth and rising demand – continue to reshape how organisations fund their work, how they design services, and how they engage with the communities they serve.
In this environment, the finance function should no longer be (if it ever was) simply a technical or back-office role. Increasingly, it plays a central part in shaping organisational resilience, decision-making, and long-term direction.
When Simon delivered a session at our conference a decade ago, the sector was facing a similarly unsettled period. High-profile charity failures, most notably Kids Company, led to intense public scrutiny and a shift in expectations around governance, value for money, and impact reporting.
In November, we found ourselves once again reflecting on how external pressures – economic, regulatory, and social – are driving significant internal transformation across the sector.
And yet, something has changed.
Over the past ten years, there has been a steady but meaningful shift in how charity finance leadership is understood and practised. More finance professionals are stepping beyond purely technical expertise and into broader strategic and organisational roles – bringing confidence, judgement, and insight to the heart of their organisations.
As Simon reflected in his keynote, the sector has moved ‘from leadership of finance to leadership from finance’. That shift felt particularly tangible in the discussions throughout the conference.
Finance teams are no longer on the periphery. They have rightly earned their place at the centre of conversations about strategy, risk, culture, and impact. That central role is only becoming more important as charities respond to a set of powerful, interlocking forces for change:
Technological change
Technology is evolving faster than at any point in history. AI and automation are moving from abstract concepts to practical tools, increasingly shaping forecasting, reporting, and decision-making. This creates opportunities for finance teams to help design systems that connect data, insight, and organisational priorities more effectively.
Regulatory change
The new SORP, alongside wider governance and compliance expectations, reinforces the need for strong systems and consistent behaviours. Finance leaders have a key role to play in helping organisations adapt proactively, embedding good governance into day-to-day operations rather than responding reactively to external pressure.
Social change
Charities remain among the UK’s most trusted institutions, and with that trust comes responsibility. Finance professionals are increasingly required to help tell the organisation’s story – translating financial information into meaning, and connecting numbers to purpose, impact, and values.
Economic change
From austerity and Brexit to the pandemic and ongoing cost-of-living pressures, charities have had to navigate sustained uncertainty. Financial insight has become essential to building resilience, supporting difficult decisions, and planning for an unpredictable future.
Taken together, these forces mean the finance function can no longer be defined solely by technical excellence. The role has become strategic, organisational, and deeply human.
In his keynote, Simon posed a challenging question: is it enough for finance to remain a technical support function, or should it sit at the heart of a charity’s emotional and strategic narrative?
It’s clear that many finance leaders are already stepping into that space. As the sector looks ahead, the challenge – and opportunity – is to continue thinking bigger, acting bolder, and embracing a form of financial leadership that goes well beyond the spreadsheet.