Griffin Chartered Accountants’ Charity Seminar 2026 with Optimising IT

On Thursday 17th September 2026, members of the Optimising IT team attended the Griffin Chartered accountants’ annual charity seminar. The day involved a series of insightful talks about various topics, delivered by a range of amazing speakers. We were lucky enough to have Peter Last, IT Project Engineer at Optimising IT, deliver a presentation on the benefits of AI to a room full of fantastic charities and trustees.    

What the speakers had to say 

The speakers brought great value to the event and shared informative and practical knowledge from a range of different sectors: 

• Michael Jarrold shared updates on the upcoming SORP changes, what they mean and how charities report their finances, activities, and impacts. 
• James Court spoke about the value of social media for charities, explaining how effective engagement doesn’t necessarily require huge budgets. James demonstrated how what really matters is having a clear message, being consistent, regularly sharing your story and simply taking pictures and posting them. 
• Rowan Truscott presented insight on the value of investing charity funds effectively and efficiently, in a way that represents the values of the charity.  
• Our own Peter Last demonstrated how Microsoft Copilot can help charities improve productivity while maintaining strong security and governance.  

Through interactive Q&A sessions and open conversations around each subject, there was fantastic engagement throughout the morning. Attendees had the opportunity to ask thoughtful questions and explore how the topics discussed could apply directly to the charity sector. The variety of perspectives in the room helped bring each presentation to life, making the seminar feel practical and relevant. Each speaker added something valuable to the discussion, and together they helped create an informative and engaging morning for everyone involved. 

Working with other B Corporations 

As a Certified B Corporation, we value opportunities to work with other purpose-driven organisations, including fellow B Corps such as Griffin Chartered Accountants Partnerships like this are important to us because they reflect and facilitate a shared commitment to using business as a force for good and supporting organisations that are making a meaningful difference.  

The charity sector is something we care deeply about, and events like this are an important part of our ongoing commitment to supporting the incredible trustees and volunteers who work hard to strengthen our communities and deliver vital services. By sharing our knowledge, we can play our part in helping charities feel more informed, confident and supported in the work they do, while equipping them with the right resources. 

Introduction to Microsoft Copilot 

We were delighted to be invited to speak about the benefits of AI as part of this Griffin Chartered Accountants’ charity seminar. The talk was delivered by our very own Peter Last, who explored how tools such as Microsoft Copilot can help charities work more efficiently while maintaining strong standards around security, governance and responsible use. 

Peter focused on the practical value of AI for charities, particularly in helping teams save time, simplify day-to-day tasks and make better use of the digital tools already available to them. Rather than presenting AI as something complicated, expensive, or out of reach, the session helped show how it can be used in a clear, secure and purposeful way. 

Key benefits highlighted during the session included: 

• Improving productivity by reducing time spent on repetitive administrative tasks. 
• Helping teams draft, summarise and organise information more efficiently. 
• Supporting better collaboration by making knowledge easier to access and share. 
• Encouraging confident AI adoption through strong security and governance practices. 

 Our Microsoft Copilot Training 

This seminar also linked back to the Microsoft Copilot Lunch & Learn we delivered with Griffin Chartered Accountants on 16 July 2026. Led by our Operations Director, Ben, with support from our Regional Sales Manager, Bradlei, the session gave attendees an introduction to Microsoft Copilot and the ways AI can support modern organisations. 

By sharing practical examples and accessible guidance, both sessions helped demonstrate how charities and purpose-led organisations can approach AI with confidence, using it to streamline workflows, make better use of resources and support their teams in a secure and considered way. 

Microsoft Copilot is a powerful tool, but most businesses are only scratching the surface of what it can actually do. Our Microsoft Copilot Training For Businesses helps your team understand how it works, where it adds value and how to use it confidently. 

If you can’t wait until our next get-together, you can book a Copilot training session with us directly, which will cover practical use cases, prompting techniques and expert guidance on how to adopt it securely. For any support or to get started with Microsoft Copilot, get in touch with our team.