Fibro Friends United (FFU) Scotland CIC are Scotland’s national organisation for fibromyalgia, based in Irvine. Fibromyalgia is a multi-faceted chronic condition of the central nervous system affecting 200-300,000 people across Scotland. FFU offer support to people suffering from the illness through a variety of activities, groups and other interventions.
Alison McColl, Managing Director of FFU, submitted a wish in January 2023 for accountancy support following a period of extenuating circumstances within the organisation, resulting in an urgent need for support to complete accounts for the financial year end.
CJM Accountancy and Financial Management are a Prestwick-based firm who offer business consulting services, and are on a consultancy framework at North Ayrshire Council. Colin McNally, Managing Director, reached out to offer his team’s support to FFU after an appeal for support was circulated to our business contractors by the Community Benefits Officer.
Over the last 4 months, Alison and Colin have worked closely together to review the accounts for the last 2 years and prepare them for submission to Companies House. This has gone beyond a ‘one off’ support, and has involved ongoing communication and support from CJM Accountancy and Financial Management to build the confidence and skills of FFU around their accounts and ensure that they are set up for success when submitting in 2024. The next step will be setting up FFU with Sage Accounting software that will help to streamline processes further, and CJM Accountancy also plan to deliver training to the organisation to ensure they’re confident about using this new accountancy management software.
Alison got in touch to thank Colin and his team for all of his support, saying:
“…honestly we would be so lost if NAC community benefits and Colin had not come to our support and rescue. Colin has been an absolute godsend and such a patient and responsive company. Colin has shown us the upmost respect and guidance and albeit he has such a high level of expertise and seniority in his firm, he has explained and answered in such a way that we feel supported and understood. We have felt encouraged and empowered to keep going as there is no judgement around our queries and he responds in such a positive and clear manner.”
Reflecting on delivering the support as a contractor, Colin said: “”It is a delight to support FFU through a period of difficulty in resolving financial submission issues. It has been a pleasure to work with the team from FFU who have worked alongside me to create a set of charity accounts. Working with third sector organisations is a passion for me and to great to support community benefits at North Ayrshire in this matter.”
If you are a contractor with specialist business or financial skills, we have local organisations and businesses who could benefit from your support. In addition to the Wish List, our Third Sector Interface are looking for some support to run workshops, and our Business Development Team are keen for North Ayrshire SMEs to also benefit from the skills and experience of the Council’s contractors. If you are interested in discussing how you could support any of these groups, please get in touch by emailing us on communitybenefits@north-ayrshire.gov.uk