CIPFA in Scotland are pleased to announce that the annual Development School, one of the highlights of the Branch calendar, will take place this year at the Inchyra Grange Hotel, Grangemouth.

Regular attendees may notice the subtle change in name. This is because we are departing from the traditional weekend and moving to a Thursday and Friday. This change, in response to delegate feedback, will allow a higher level of participation, appreciating the varying demands on both personal and work time.

We also have a new venue this year, an attractive location in Central Scotland with good public transport links and immediate access to the motorway network.

The Scottish Branch wishes to continue supporting and developing Continuing Professional Development and meeting the needs of finance and non-finance professionals working in public service. As such our approach is to continue to focus on personal development and the “softer” management skills rather than technical accounting issues which are addressed through the range of other courses and conferences offered throughout the year.

This year’s event will explore the skills which individuals require in order to lead and manage, and is particularly relevant to those who may be moving into a management role for the first time or who would welcome a refresher.

The sessions will cover leadership and team roles, handling conflict, and assertive leadership and will conclude with a collaborative workshop. As such the event will provide a mixture of theory and practical learning, as well as the opportunity to put these skills into practice.

This is an event run by volunteers of CIPFA in Scotland which means that we are able to set the delegate rate for this residential course at a level similar to commercially run one-day events. I hope that you will be able to support this key event in CIPFA’s annual calendar.

Derek Yule
Senior Vice-Chair
CIPFA in Scotland