Business Continuity

I have just come back from a local Oxfordshire County Council initiative seminar entitled “Operation Ostrich”.

The breakfast time seminar was well attended by local Cherwell businesses and I think all learnt things that, though obvious, were not in their own business plans.

The event was run using an audience participation case study where a fire had started in a vehicle in your office/factory car park and gradually escalated until it had reached your own building.

As you no longer had access to the building for an unknown amount of time how would you run your business, who would you contact, how would you contact them. As remember when you evacuate a building you aren’t supposed to take anything with you or go back for anything.

So where is the backup of your laptop, mobile phone, time manager etc.

Now I think I have found a use for all that offsite disk space Microsoft/BT keeps inviting me to use at minimal cost. Just have to keep it in a format that is easy to move around and password protect it.

 

BT Digital Vault

Windows Live SkyDrive

Colalife

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A friend of mine, Simon Berry of Ruralnet, has been running this campaign for a little while now and has finally got Coca Cola’s attention. He recently sent me this email, and I thought you should hear about it.

You may already know that in May of this year I started an online campaign to get Coca-Cola to use its distribution muscle to save children’s lives in developing countries, where I lived and worked for 12 years. And the progress has been amazing (see below) but I need your help (not money!) to get through the next crucial phase. You can help by clicking here or reading on . . .

In the next 24hrs more than 5,000 children in Africa will die from simple causes such as dehydration from diarrohea. Simple medicines like oral rehydration salts are not available and yet, virtually wherever you go, you can buy a Coke.

This simple campaign could significantly reduce this relentless death toll but I need you to show your support.

There are now more than 5,000 people signed up to the campaign’s Facebook Group and we have our own website and blog: http://colalife.org The Facebook Group has been fundamental to all the progress we have achieved. We’ve got Coca-Cola’s attention, I’ve met with them and we are talking.

However, we are now in a crucial phase. Over the next few weeks Coca-Cola will decide whether or not to run trials of the idea in east Africa. A deciding factor will be the continued growth of the Facebook Group. And there other ways people can show support (see below).

Please join our Facebook Group:

http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=18947780476

or show your support in some other way. There are many options and none involve money:

http://www.colalife.org/get-involved/

Thanks in anticipation.

Simon

Progress reports are available here:

http://www.colalife.org/index.php?s=progress+report

I have signed up on Facebook why don’t you.

President’s Review of January 2007 – May 2008

15th May 2008

Thames Valley Society of Chartered Accountants
President’s Review of January 2007 – May 2008

Normally our formal financial year would span two presidencies however as I have been your president for two years I thought I would report on the eighteen months since my last report. Our strategies have been nurtured from infancy leading to a higher level of support for members than ever before.

Chartered Accountants in Business

Our CAB group goes from strength to strength, with quarterly meetings with various topics, again we have held some successful soft skills events, hosted by one of our members, Joy Ainley. More recently another of our volunteers, David Harmes put on a successful evening event (“Putting the Numbers Front Seat”). Our next CAB event has just moved from the planning board to the flyer, we are taking over the Oxford Union in June when we have four star speakers for and against the proposition “This House believes Corporate Responsibility will not survive the downturn”, you should find a flyer in the pack, my thanks to Michael Cooper for his efforts in putting this together.

Practice Support Groups

We now have four practice support groups with Newbury successfully joining Oxford, Reading and Thames Valley East, new members are always welcome. During the year, together with the group chairmen I attended two of the three Practice Advisory Group forums where the new group wanted input from the general practitioner, should any of you want to see what Moorgate Place has to offer for the practitioner I highly recommend these events.

Job Club

The job club has not met for some time, with the current “Credit Crunch” we might find it valuable to resurrect it..

Technical Advisory Committee

The TAC is kept busy with monthly meetings reviewing Institute pronouncements.

Continuing Professional development (CPD)

As can be seen in the Treasurer’s report the SESCA managed CPD programme runs from strength to strength, with over a 1,000 course seats in each year.

Annual Dinner

We held a successful annual dinner at the Ashmolean Museum and the Randolph Hotel, where the Randolph surpassed itself with the quality of the local Thames Valley sourced produce.

Annual Conference

The annual conference, held in Stokenchurch, again ran in two streams with delegates mixing between practice and business focused lectures.

New Members Dinner

This year the New Members Dinner will be amalgamated with the Annual Dinner at the Crowne Plaza in Marlow.