South West of England

About Us

We support Institute members and students in the South West area. This includes Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, South Wales, Gloucestershire.

We are volunteers who work together with the team at the Institute to provide free and low cost CPD activities, local networking opportunities and activities which raise the Institute’s profile. Free subscribers and non-members who would like to learn more about the Institute are also welcome to join us. Our branch committee meets regularly to plan events and discuss new areas of activity.

If you would like to make a suggestion of what you’d like us to focus on in the coming months, or are interested in finding out more about what the committee does, please get in touch.

Upcoming events

The South East of England branch offers a variety of events to support your professional development at every stage of your career. Whether you to want brush up on your knowledge and skills, network with peers or add to your CPD, we run sessions on a variety of topics and in a variety of formats, with contributions from experts and guest speakers across the governance community.

Upcoming Events

Conference

2025 CGIUKI Annual Conference

Be sure to pencil 1st and 2nd July in your diary, to join us, hundreds of governance professionals and expert speakers in London for two days of insight, discussions on best practice and debate. The CGI Annual Conference – Governance 2025 is the ideal environment to network governance professionals from across the UK and beyond. Prices will start from £300 with discounted rates available for CGI Members and Students.

Conference

In Person

CPD

London

Networking

Workshop Series

Enhancing Trustworthiness

Trust is an essential social glue, crucial to the everyday functioning of society and the flourishing of businesses. We will be running 3 workshops to explore trustworthiness more fully.

Workshop

CPD

Virtual

Awards 2025

CGIUKI Annual Awards 2025

The CGIUKI Annual Awards will be hosted at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, London W2 2TY on Tuesday 4 November 2025 - we look forward to seeing you there.

Awards

In Person

London

Latest Blogs

View all blogs

Blog

The Institute's Response to the UK Stewardship Code Consultation

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has finished consulting on its proposed changes to the Code. The UK Stewardship Code sets a standard for how investors manage their responsibilities and aims to ensure that investment decisions drive long-term value and create positive societal outcomes.

4 March 2025

Blog

Consultation

Reporting

Corporate

Blog

The Paradox of Risk

Risk is now a mainstream topic of conversation. In the past, risk was associated primarily with fast-moving innovative businesses (and with particular events such as product launches); but the UK’s risk landscape has changed radically in the last decade.

4 March 2025

Blog

Audit and risk

Risk Management

Blog

Updated approach from the CRO on changing a financial year end date

Changing a company’s year end and the filing of the B83 sometimes leads to confusion among presenters

Blog

Cross sector

Meet the team

The Chartered Governance Institute maintains a presence in the South West of England through its local branch committee. The local branch strives to enhance the presence of the Institute within Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, South Wales, and Gloucestershire, to support members and students throughout their careers and study programmes, as qualified or aspiring governance professionals. If you are interested in joining the committee, please contact us.

Branch Co-Chair

Ann Blundell FCG

I have spent the majority of my working life in Financial Services - banking, fund administration, captive insurance, insurance - and currently with The Openwork Partnership. The last 16 years I’ve focussed on company secretarial and governance roles; over that time have met some interesting characters! Outside of work, massive rugby fan and worked for a few years at Twickenham.

Branch Co-Chair

April James

April is in the process of undertaking the Institute's Qualifying Programme and is currently Trainee Company Secretary at Hargreaves Lansdown. She has 5 years of previous governance experience in the charity sector as well as voluntary governance experience with several local charities. She lives in Swindon.

Secretary

Yvonne Fisher

Yvonne has worked at Nationwide Building Society for 5 years and previously held a number of roles with financial services institutions in the City of London. She now lives in Wiltshire but is originally from Essex.

Committee Member

Christopher Stoate

Contact the South West branch

For membership and study enquiries please contact the student and membership team:

Phone: +44 (0)20 7580 4741
Email: Support Services

For branch support and event queries please contact the branch support team

Phone: +44 (0)20 7612 7024
Email: Branch Support

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