Treasure quest!
We’re very pleased to say that we have filled the vacancy for one of the most important roles at Sycamore Trust. After a lengthy search, we’re delighted to introduce Phil Allum, our new treasurer!
An ACA qualified chartered accountant with over 10 years experience in the not for profit sector, Phil brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the role, including several years of working abroad when he worked for an international charity in Nigeria for three years while his wife worked for UNICEF.
Despite his international background, Phil’s roots are local and he has family in Havering as well as old colleagues who live in the area, which is how he came to find out about Sycamore Trust. “I’d been interested in a trustee role for quite a while but wanted to find the right fit”, Phil explained. “I’m from Essex originally and I have family in the Romford area, so Sycamore is quite local for me. I think it’s a great organisation and works in a space that is historically underfunded. Local government underfunds and expects the world, and my experience of the sector is that expectations are huge and often in return for very little.”
Some treasurers can get very involved where finance capacity doesn’t exist in the business but Phil doesn’t expect that to be the case in terms of his involvement, however he hopes that he will add value to the organisation. “Everything I’ve seen from Sycamore suggests that the finance department is very well run. Having worked in the sector in quite senior management roles for 15 years, I know a lot about how the sector works and I hope I can help advise on funding applications or on compliance involving new legislation that I might be aware of that might impact on Sycamore.”
Nevertheless, he’s aware of the challenges facing the charity sector at present, and he is realistic about the coming months and years, although he wonders if a change of government might lead to a change of direction. “There are always peaks and troughs with charity finance. That can align with government policy. We may well be about to see a change in government, which for me, is a generational change. My professional life began with the Con/Lib coalition, and we’ve seen deep funding cuts since then. What we don’t know is what is around the corner although we know that local authorities are in deep trouble. Is that going to be addressed at a central level? Will we see a change in policy in how local government is funded, what is available and which services are prioritised?
Despite the uncertainty over central government spending, Philip is convinced that well run organisations like Sycamore, are well placed to succeed with funding bids and maintain the quality of services that we currently provide. “My view will always be that it is competitive to get funding. However, the organisations with a track record and sound financial accounts behind them and offering a good service that they have the experience and knowledge to deliver will still get that funding."
We’re also hoping that we will see Philip at some of our events and he’s keen to do some fund-raising of his own. He recently completed a mammoth run around the Isle of Wight, a distance of 106km. The run went through the night and took him 21 hours to complete! We won’t expect him to do that too often for us, but the role of treasurer is a vital one within the organisation and CEO Cheryl Kearney was delighted that Philip agreed to come on board. She said, “I’m so pleased to welcome Philip to Sycamore Trust. He will further strengthen our group of trustees and he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that I am sure will be of great benefit to Sycamore in future”
