9.30 - 10.30
PLENARY 3 - University of Derby / TPP / AICPA CIMA
Dr. Nerise Johnson, Senior Manager, AICPA CIMA
Bita Heffernan, Divisional Manager, TPP Recruitment
Bita has over a decade of experience in recruitment and headhunting within the charity, education and UK’s financial services sectors. She's had the privilege of partnering with numerous global NGOs, charities and education providers, playing an instrumental role in securing their key hires. Bita is a dedicated humanitarian and an advocate for women’s rights. She has effectively utilised her expertise in public speaking and network to champion the causes she is passionate about. She has worked extensively with immigrants and children from socioeconomically challenged backgrounds. Outside of her professional life, Bita's most cherished role is that of a mother. She also enjoys traveling, and spending time with her beloved dog Coco.
Susan Ambler, CFO, University of Derby
As the CFO at the University of Derby, Susan is responsible for ensuring resources are in place for delivering the University strategy and commitments to our students, whilst ensuring financial security and compliance. She has a strong background in audit and has driven significant change around financial reporting and transparency during her time in Higher Education, bringing to the forefront commercial profitability and business case alignment to key aspects of activity. Susan also leads on securing strategic external long-term funding such as working with global funders and building relationships for taking future opportunities
Sarah Setchell, Chief People Officer, University of Derby
11.00 - 12.00
WORKSHOP 7A - Account-Ability
Austin Jackson, Director, Account-Ability
Austin has worked with more than 50 HEIs since founding Account-Ability 27 years’ ago. He has extensive experience in building budgeting and forecasting models covering everything from I&E BS and CF planning, student number and income planning, staff FTE and pay planning, TRAC and more. Austin’s particular interest is in helping institutions move from traditional forecasting models to planning models and methods that meet today’s challenges of an uncertain, fast-changing, and risk-based environment. His background, prior to founding Account-Ability was in corporate strategic and financial change programme management.
Quentin Jackson, Director, Account-Ability
Quentin has worked with both HEIs and other organisations developing budgeting and forecasting models. He has implemented many varied planning models from weekly sales planning by SKU, P&L planning in a FTSE firm to detailed student number planning in HEIs. In all organisations he has worked the primary aim in all cases to is to reduce the time to forecast and increase quality of the planning and reporting data. This does not just involve replicating existing traditional forecasting models but also developing new models and processes which can respond rapidly to a changing business.
WORKSHOP 7B - BUFDG Student Income and Collection Working Group
Colin McCartney, Collections and Recovery Manager, Manchester Metropolitan University
Colin McCartney is the Collections & Recovery Manager in the Finance Service Centre at Manchester Metropolitan University. With over eight years of experience in this role, Colin oversees the University’s Credit Control and Legal Recovery functions, facilitating tuition and accommodation fee payments for domestic and international students. A qualified Chartered Legal Executive since 2011, he brings a wealth of expertise in debt recovery, credit management, and civil litigation gained from senior roles in legal and financial sectors. Colin is passionate about delivering efficient, student-centered services while upholding high professional standards.
Jilly Huggins, Head of Transactional Services, University of Bristol
Jilly is the Head of Transactional Services at the University of Bristol, where she has worked since 2018. Her service area includes the busy Income team which directly supports students on a daily basis - one of the most challenging and rewarding parts of the job. With a background in Further and Higher Education, Jilly has experience of working across governance and audit, operational finance, and (in the early days!) digital education, and is currently a staff Trustee at Bristol. She has a degree in Social Policy from Bristol, a Masters in Business Administration from the Open University, and a passion for delivering sustainable service improvements for the benefit of the university and its students.
Kirsty White, Student Finance Office Manager, University of Huddersfield
After studying as a scientist Kirsty worked for a medical company before moving into finance in the HE sector. Kirsty is the SFO manager at the University of Huddersfield and as a transformational manager oversaw the merging of disparate areas of finance to create a Student Finance team with responsibility for the financial enrolment, invoicing and collection of all fees, and commercial debt collection as well as the cashiers function and pastoral and hardship support. Alongside this Kirsty is responsible for all commercial and trade debtor processes at the university, as well as online payments and year end audit processes for the Sales Ledger team. By transforming the SFO and developing and introducing linked processes, Kirsty has overseen a huge reduction in the university’s bad debt and default rate, as well as improving student experience and contributing to the Finance Department’s 11 continuous years of customer service excellence awards.
Leah Pillay, Acting head of commercial & student financial operations, University of Sussex
Leah has been working at the University for 13 years within the Finance division. Currently acting into a new role, for the last year Leah has been heading up the team who manage commercial & student debt collection and student financial data. Leah has found it very eye opening and very rewarding working directly with students. Leah would really like to instil a positive relationship with our students and their finances.
WORKSHOP 7C - BUFDG
Andrea Marshall, Tax Specialist, BUFDG
Andrea’s career spans over 30 years, beginning in 1988 when she joined HM Customs & Excise as a VAT Officer. After 20 years in practice, she joined the University of Worcester in 2013 as its Tax Officer, before moving to BUFDG as its Tax Specialist in March 2020. Her BUFDG role involves updating the HE sector on current, relevant tax issues; providing training and resources; liaison with HMRC, advisors and other third parties; and arranging events, including the Annual Tax Conference. Outside work, Andrea can be found walking her beloved dog (Wilma), running (slowly!), and generally trying to organise her life!
Julia Ascott, Employment Taxes Specialist, BUFDG
Julia joined BUFDG in October 2019 as our Employment Tax specialist, after working at Deloitte, Grant Thornton and more recently, in her own business where she was first introduced to the HE sector. Her experience within the world of employment taxes spans over 20 years’ and she will happily chat about employment status issues for hours so don’t get her started. Her role at BUFDG is to inform and assist the HE sector on current, topical employment tax, pensions, payroll, CIS and global mobility issues as well as highlight broader issues to HMRC on behalf of the HE sector.
13.00 - 14.00
WORKSHOP 8A - QMPF
Graeme Aithie, Partner, QMPF
Graeme is a Partner at QMPF, an independent corporate finance advisory firm, and co-leads their Education advisory team. He specialises in debt funding, capital projects and delivering third-party investment through private sector partnerships. QMPF has supported universities in obtaining off-balance sheet financing for more than 50,000 bedspaces of student accommodation through a range of “DBFO” and joint-venture structures. Recent project experience includes major projects with Birmingham, Hull, Kingston, Southampton and Staffordshire, and with operators such as Unite, iQ, Hochtief, Equitix and UPP. QMPF’s team has also arranged over £2bn of borrowing facilities and is active on various Net Zero initiatives across the sector. Graeme qualified as a chartered accountant with PwC before joining QMPF (then Quayle Munro) in 2008 and has 15 years’ experience in HE.
Jess Holden, Associate Director, QMPF
Jess is an Associate Director at QMPF, working in both the Higher Education and Renewable Energy advisory teams. She has c. 5+ years advisory experience across both the public and private sector. In recent years she has focused on providing advice on student accommodation projects, options appraisals, debt raising, covenant negotiations and financial modelling for net zero and energy retrofit projects. Current projects include major residences projects with Durham, the London School of Economics and Manchester, advising on DBFO procurement processes and project structuring. She joined QMPF in 2022, previously working as a Manager in Deloitte’s Business Valuation team, where she also qualified as a Chartered Accountant.
WORKSHOP 8B - CUBO
Nysa Pradhan, Executive Director, CUBO
Nysa joined CUBO in October 2024 as Executive Director. Nysa brings extensive experience in leadership, innovation, strategic, financial and operational management and a passion for making a difference in the non-profit sector, evidenced by her experiences at Gem-A, BCI, IIS and her own volunteering with the Aga Khan Council as well as her recent roles. Most recently, Nysa held the position of Chief Operating Officer at The Gemmological Association of Great Britain (Gem-A).
Nysa works alongside the CUBO Executive Committee and colleagues in the mission to lead and promote excellence in the development of campus life, services and the student experience and in continuing to deliver the core benefits of membership – networking, best practice, data and resources for all campus and commercial services.
WORKSHOP 8C - Buzzacott
Katharine Patel, Partner, Head of Charity & Not-for-Profit, Buzzacott
Katharine joined Buzzacott in 1996 and is a Partner and head of the Charity & Not-for-Profit Team. She is also a member of the firm’s Executive Board. Within the education sector, she has particular responsibility for the provision of external audit and regulatory compliance services to a portfolio of clients which includes Universities, Further Education Colleges, Multi Academy Trusts and other independent institutions. Katharine also acts as the audit partner for a variety of other charitable and not-for-profit clients, including fundraising charities, grant giving bodies, healthcare providers and membership organisations. In addition, Katharine provides wider support to organisations within these sectors including the provision of advice on financial accounting and reporting, internal control, governance and risk management. She regularly provides training on all of these areas, both to an external audience at sector events and seminars and also on a bespoke basis to her clients. Katharine also sits on the Trustee Board for two charitable organisations. 
Shachi Blakemore, Partner, Buzzacott
Shachi joined Buzzacott in 2005 and is a Partner in the Charity & Not-for-profit team. Shachi works with a wide range of charities including educational organisations (further education colleges, higher education institutes and academies), health and welfare charities, membership bodies, hospital charities and grant making trusts. She specialises in statutory audit and assurance assignments but also provides clients with advice on risk management, governance, board assurance frameworks, financial and management reporting, and forecasting. Shachi has a particular interest in training and presents regularly at Buzzacott’s trustee training workshops and other seminars. She runs bespoke training sessions for trustees and audit committee members. Shachi also has extensive non-executive experience in the education section including previously being a governor and Audit Committee member of a university. Currently, she is a trustee and Audit & Risk Committee member of Moorfield’s Eye Charity.
Catherine Biscoe, Partner, Buzzacott
Catherine joined Buzzacott in 2002 and is a partner in the Charity & Not-for-Profit team. She provides audit and advisory services to a wide range of charities and educational institutions. As well as statutory audit and assurance engagements, Catherine provides advisory services such as assistance with reporting systems, business plans and financial projections, funder specific audits and governance reviews including risk management and board assurance frameworks. Catherine regularly presents at our client seminars and contributes to external conferences and events. She provides bespoke training for management teams and trustee boards on charity finance and governance topics. Catherine has been involved with charities as a volunteer in the Tower Hamlets Reading Partner scheme, as a board member of further and higher education colleges, and as an external member of the Finance Committee of a charity. Outside work, she enjoys visiting new places and skiing.
14.30 - 15.30
PLENARY 4 - HW Fisher
Carol Rudge, Partner & Head of Education, HW Fisher
Carol’s roles at HW Fisher include Head of the Higher Education and NFP Practice, Head of Audit and she is also a member of the Sumer AuditCo Board. HW Fisher became part of the Sumer Group in October 2024 and is ranked as a top 15 accountancy practice. She has worked with many universities from the very large to the small and specialist over the 25 years she has been involved with the sector. Her experience also extends across charities, trade unions, membership organisations and public sector bodies. She leads on a wide range of activities in the higher education sector including facilitating sessions for Higher Education Audit Committee Chairs three times a year, writing for the sector press and regularly speaking at sector events on technical issues as well as themes around Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). Carol is also a member of the Higher Education Financial Reporting Group, the Charity Commission’s SORP committee, an accredited coach and is a passionate believer in EDI.
Jenny Brown, EDI Specialist, EDIT Development
Jenny works with many different types of organisations in the UK and overseas on the challenges of creating inclusive thinking and the culture and mindset shifts that are needed for success. She is also a coach and coach supervisor, governance consultant and has a past NED portfolio that includes being Chair of UK housing association and Audit and risk and board roles at a number of not for profit organisations. Underlying all these roles is Jenny’s passion for understanding people and their unique skills and styles and the need for successful organisations and teams to take into account the work that has to go into creating the right environments.
