Weekly update

Since coming back from holiday – which itself was a strange experience in Egypt. (We stayed at a wonderful resort with amazing friendly people, but a lack of tourists because of the troubles there.  It’s a shame for the ordinary people, as the resort we stayed in, Sharm, is miles away from the trouble, perfectly safe and they are completely reliant on the tourist money for a living.) – I’ve had a bit of catching up to do including attending last week’s the AGM in Cardiff hosted by our TSI Welsh branch.

This week hasn’t been too full of meetings and has provided a chance to think about the future of the Institute.  In particular we have upcoming board and council meetings.  Whilst it can be occasionally frustrating from a business perspective to have such rigid governance, if we get it right it can add real value and consensus to our work.  It’s not only important that we focus on the right issues but members engage through their council reps.  Council will be looking at some big issues in mid-October, including the future of the profession, our strategic objectives for the next few years and what members want from the Institute- the little stuff! 

Next week the board will be looking at our three year strategic, business and resourcing plan – with a view to wider consultation before hopefully signing off the plan at their December meeting.

A meeting I did attend this was the Consumer Protection Partnership.  This brings together high-level partners to discuss issues impacting on the consumer environment.  Often these types of meetings can feel like process-driven talking shops.  I think that the partnership has been a little like that as it has been finding its feet but I get the sense of a seed change, and a real focus on improved outcomes.

I also spoke at a conference aimed at collection agents and companies.  You could tell just by looking at the delegates which ones had entered the profession via the accountancy route and which ones via the frontline collection route! 

Whilst my job can be stressful my partner’s (Eileen) work as a specialist Macmillan Nurse always gives me a sense of perspective.  We had some good news this week when she was offered a new job – still with in the field of cancer care but a slightly less stressful one. 

One final personal snippet.  I help coach junior cricket within the village.  Last week saw the first Masters v Apprentices match.  I was extremely nervous - we would never have lived it down if the juniors had beaten us.  In the end we did win, with yours truly scoring a useful 31 not out.  Apparently the kids have put it down to the quality of the coaching they receive.