Not for Profit
Charities and Not for Profit (NfP) organisations face an increasing number of challenges. Most have been well established for many years in areas such as health, welfare, voluntary service and research, but in the last decade have needed to change dramatically to comply with increasing operational and regulatory initiatives. In particular, as public funding has decreased, pressure on fund raising programmes and internal cost management has grown. Consequently, charities and NfP organisations now need to ensure all their services and processes are as effective and as efficient as possible.
Cornwell is the leading independent consultancy firm practice in the Not for Profit sector and has unrivalled experience in assisting NfP organisations respond to the challenges. Our team of consultants understands the key issues and our independent and objective approach enables us to help clients ensure that effective strategies, systems and processes are in place. We have considerable expertise in all operational aspects, from strategic business planning and marketing through managing programmes to improve information management, finance, and retail.
NfP organisations need access to trustworthy, objective and cost effective expertise and support across all areas of their operations. Our consultants have proven experience in providing specialist services that meet the increasingly competitive demands of the sector. This has allowed us to build long-standing relationships with many leading charities and NfP organisations acting in the role of trusted advisor, focussing on key business areas such as fund raising, retail management and programme & finance control.
Some of the tailored services we provide include:
- IS/IT advisory services
- Benchmarking existing practices
- Business planning and strategy setting
- Business/IT function outsourcing advice
- Electronic document and records management
IS/IT advisory services
IS and IT issues are particularly important to NfP organisations as they are a major part of capital investment and operating costs. These investments have the potential to significantly improve operational effectiveness but can also cause major problems if the right decisions are not made.
Our consultants conduct an IT ‘health check’ as an objective review of the IT strategy, architecture and alignment to business efficiency and effectiveness. This includes benchmarking against recognised standards of best practice in IT such as ITIL, BS9001, BS15000 and BS7799.
Cornwell’s packaged software evaluation and selection services enable:
- Initial process review
- Requirements gathering
- Designing evaluation criteria to meet the business objectives
- Managing the evaluation process including initial vendor selection
- RFP/ITT production and review, short-list selection
- Scripting supplier demonstrations and reference site visits
- Contract negotiation
- Implementation planning and monitoring or auditing the implementation project
We have detailed knowledge of many of the packages on the market, and considerable understanding of the Not for Profit sector’s requirements including:
- Statutory reporting requirements such as SORP and SOFA
- VAT, including partially recoverable organisations
- Donor reporting requirements.
Benchmarking existing practices
Our consultants have extensive experience of working with many organisations in this sector and have a deep understanding of the challenges and regulatory pressures. Cornwell’s IT 'health check' service involves an assessment of processes and systems at organisational and departmental levels to understand what works well, what should change, and why. In this way we help refocus business operations to improve overall effectiveness and value.
Business planning and strategy setting
Supporting business planning and strategy setting, our services are designed to help clients and stakeholders at the highest level with:
- Strategic positioning
- Overall direction setting
- Governance
- Relationships with suppliers and customers.
Our consultants also help with the strategy implementation and the monitoring and management of performance.
Business/IT function outsourcing advice
Our services in this area involve the assessment of the business function outsourcing opportunity and the viability of forming an outsourcing relationship. Cornwell consultants also assist with implementation, including the structuring of service level agreements, and provide help in subsequent management of the outsourcing arrangement. In addition, we offer health checks and reviews of existing arrangements and can support the reintroduction into the main business of a previously outsourced service.
Electronic document and records management
We help ensure that organisations manage information (both structured and unstructured) as a corporate resource and that appropriate policies and procedures are in place to meet reporting and governance requirements. Cornwell employs a large number of EDRMS specialist consultants and also delivers formal training programmes.
For further information please click here to complete an Information Request Form.
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