By her own admission, Beverley Turner isn’t terribly good at saying no. When her daughter was seven years old, her Brownie pack was threatened with closure unless someone stepped up to assume the role of Brown Owl. “My daughter said, ‘My mum will do it,’” Turner explains. “I went on to run the local Brownie unit for about five years.”

Turner has always devoted time to voluntary roles, even when she was juggling a busy career with the demands of a family. “I qualified as a chartered accountant in 1982 and since I started my own practice partnership, I wanted to give back to society,” she says. When Turner and her fellow partner started helping out local charities with their accounts, independent examiners’ reports and other advice, word soon got out.

“I helped one not-for-profit become a charity because it's easier to do fundraising and apply for grants if you’ve got charitable status, and I carried on being their independent examiner. Then my husband was involved in another charity and when their treasurer left, I volunteered – or I was volunteered – and I’m now a trustee of that one as well.”

In 2012, a senior liveryman and fellow member of the local ICAEW district society suggested that Turner attend a dinner at the Chartered Accountants’ Livery Company to see if she might want to become a member. She admits that by the end of the evening she was already hooked. Turner joined the livery company immediately and was made a full liveryman in 2013 in a beautiful ceremony at Goldsmiths’ Hall. 

The Chartered Accountants’ Livery Company is open to all members of ICAEW. One of 111 livery companies of the City of London, it supports the City in its promotion of the UK as a place to do business, plays a role in its governance, supports the profession and is a fraternity of members – currently around 400 – who enjoy each other’s company.

Turner says a push to encourage greater diversity of members is paying dividends. The proportion of female members in the livery company has more than doubled from barely 7% to over 14% since she joined. Meanwhile, it has set its sights on appealing to those under the age of 40 to apply. 

The livery company also raises funds for its affiliated Chartered Accountants’ Livery Charity. “When a member joins the livery company, they are asked to make a donation to the livery charity equal to their annual subscription, which we call a quarterage,” Turner says. Together with investment income from the livery company’s sizable investment assets, the charity is able to donate to deserving causes. In the year ended 30 September 2023, the charity made 42 grants totaling £175,000. 

Every three years, the trustees choose a recipient of a major project award to receive £75,000 per annum for three years. The most recent recipient of that award is Beyond Food, a charity that uses hospitality to get young people back into employment and help those who are homeless, coming off drugs and alcohol, coming out of prison, or young offenders, with a slogan “everyone deserves a second chance”. The charity runs courses to teach people cooking skills and offers work experience in its social enterprise restaurant, Brigade, to help them find work.

The previous major project award recipient was Create, a charity that gives carers the chance to take time out from their responsibilities and participate in high-quality creative arts experiences – to express themselves, meet other carers, build skills, and boost their confidence and well-being.

Another funding recipient, south London charity Treloar’s, is a residential home for severely disabled children. The livery charity also made a grant to St Paul’s Cathedral to allow it to run its first orchestral mass since lockdown, and it was so popular it has become an annual fixture. Another City of London initiative is the Livery Food Initiative supporting charity City Harvest to fight food poverty in the City.

Turner became Almoner and the Chair of Trustees at the Chartered Accountants’ Livery Charity in October last year for a three-year term, and she already has big plans to raise the profile of the livery charity and inspire many more members to get involved. 

“I want to shout out to members about the fantastic work the charity does with a hope that they might be able to dig into their pockets and find a little bit more money to give,” she says. “It’s very important for members to know where their donations are going and we encourage them to propose good causes that they are involved with to apply for grants – we’re always happy to support members’ efforts. It’s very satisfying to know that you’re making a practical difference to people’s lives.”

Funding aside, opportunities to get stuck in and offer practical volunteering support are plentiful. The livery company is heavily involved in City of London charitable events such as the annual Red Cross Christmas Market at the end of November. 

“We understand that younger members have their careers and family commitments, but there is always something you can do,” Turner says. “Joining the Worshipful Company of Chartered Accountants means that you've already got a network in place and a host of opportunities to choose from when you have got more time to devote to volunteering.”

“My advice? Get involved with volunteering, because it is so rewarding to give something back – even if it’s just a little. Seeing how you can help people is very heartening and it’s opened my eyes to just how much there is a need out there. I’m so glad I joined all those years ago.”