A rather belated Happy New Year to you all.
From my perspective, being President is akin to waiting for a bus, long periods of inactivity and then a flurry of events in close proximity.
The year started with a meeting involving the National Fraud Authority, myself and the Chief Executive - to discuss their forthcoming initiatives and to offer suggestions for future projects.
The first function of the year was hosted by the Chartered Institute of Taxation at the Dorchester in London. I shared a table with amongst others, the Honourable M.P for Burnley and the President of C.I.P.F.A and learnt that residents in Burnley consumes some 15% of all French Benedictine. A useful quiz question.
January contained the regular Council round of meetings and it is still fascinating to comprehend the extent of the Institute’s involvement in European activities.
The London and Home Counties Association event was in the Innkeepers Hall in London, a splendid venue steeped in tradition. Both the food and wine were excellent and my thanks to the Association for their kind invitation.
Following quickly on the heels of this event was the Annual Benefits Conference in Southport. The event once again proved incredibly popular with both exhibitors and practitioners. As always the programme contained a variety of topical subjects for the audience "to get their teeth into."
Finally, February came to a close with the C.I.P.F.A President’s function at the Savoy Hotel. It was an opportunity to catch up with former colleagues especially my former Treasurer at Swansea City Council and past president of the Institute John Butler,who has now retired, and I would like to take this opportunity of wishing him good health and happiness for the future.
