James Sowden is a Chartered Management Accountant with over 15 years of experience working in finance roles in both commercial and charity sectors. He currently serves as the Finance Manager for The Rivers Trust, where he prepares and presents management accounts, oversees projects and grant claims, and ensures statutory reporting requirements are met. He has strong communication, time management, and computer skills and enjoys outdoor hobbies like kayaking and mountain biking.

1. James Edward Sowden ACMA CGMA
Address: 1 Fursdon Close, Elburton, Plymouth, PL9 8UT
Email: jesowden@yahoo.co.uk | Tel No: 01752 296289 | Mob No: 07713 159904
Personal Statement
A Chartered Management Accountant with experience of working in a variety of organisations within the
commercial and charity sectors. A team player with experience of dealing with all staff, suppliers, the board
of trustees, and government bodies. Experience with project accounting, European grant claims, and complete
oversight of financial operations. Experienced with Sage accounting packages and Microsoft Office.
Skills
 Good Communication Skills: I can communicate effectively with all staff, I attend senior meetings and
present to the board of trustees. I also meet and liaise with government and external staff.
 Good Time Management: I am responsible for over 20 concurrent projects, some of which are European,
all with differing deadlines and reporting requirements. I am also responsible for the overall finance for
the trust. I meet all deadlines imposed and prioritise accordingly.
 Financial Support: I work with multiple project managers to provide supporting financial support for bid
applications, as well as preparing a financial case which is presented to the board to support business
decisions.
 Management Accounts: I am responsible for preparing the Management Accounts, which includes a full
Income Statement, Statement of Financial Position and Cash Flow Forecast, as well as a multi-year
forecast, and present to the board of trustees.
 Presentation Skills: I have good presentation skills, and present the management accounts to the board,
and have given accounts and claim advice presentations to other river trusts as well as others who are non-
financial.
 Supervisory & Management Experience – Supervising and managing the small accounts team to produce
monthly accounts in a timely and accurate fashion, and grant claims to deadlines.
 Trading Subsidiary: I prepare the accounts for the trading subsidiary, for which I am also the Company
Secretary, and am responsible for all statutory reporting.
 Computer Skills: I am an experienced user of Sage accounting packages, and proficient with the core
Microsoft Office products; Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Access, Publisher and Outlook.
Employment History
Finance Manager, promoted from Finance Officer in March 2013
The Rivers Trust
December 2010 – Present
I am responsible for finance, and manage a small team. I prepare and present the management accounts, which
includes a full Income Statement, Statement of Financial Position, Cash Flow Forecast, and multi-year forecast
to the board of trustees.
This involves dealing with external bodies, some which are governmental and applying procurement rules, and
also overseeing contracts.
I oversee a large number of projects including some European ERDF projects, which I assist the project
manager to provide supporting financial information for bid applications, as well as preparing project accounts
with forecasts. I also oversee the grant claims for the projects.

2. I liaise with the auditors for the preparation and presentation of the annual statutory accounts, and recently
went through a tender process and oversaw the change in auditors.
I have also been involved in organising numerous events, which The Rivers Trust usually hold 2 a year
The Rivers Trust has a trading subsidiary for which I am the Company Secretary, I prepare and present
Managements for the trading subsidiary as well as for ensuring the Annual Return and VAT returns are
submitted correctly and on time.
Assistant Account
Regional Hearing Services Ltd
October 2007 – November 2010
Duties included operating the purchase ledger, raising sales invoices, cost of sales, fixed asset register, payroll
journals, goodwill journals, looking after the inter-company accounts, other journals as necessary, expenses,
looking after the motor fleet, P46’s, making online BACS payments.
I also helped out with IT support, and was part of the project team which implemented a CRM system into the
company.
Office Assistant
Duralock Ltd
August 2007 – September 2007
Duties included making purchase orders and sales invoices, ensuring all materials and equipment was available
for factory workers for assembly. Arrange delivery for items globally.
Ships Support Accountant
Devonport Management Limited
June 2006 - June 2007
I was in charge of 4 cost centres, and prepared monthly cost statements for each including accruals and
adjustments. I was also involved in the budget preparation for those cost centres.
I also prepared labour statistics for a large contract with the MOD, and was responsible for monthly capital
expenditure reporting.
I also prepared billing forecasts and raised bills to the MOD
Accounts Assistant / HR
Acacia Training & Development Ltd
October 2005 - June 2006
Duties included bookkeeping using Sage Line 50, credit control, month end journals and payroll preparation.
Accounts Assistant
Bestbookkeepers Accountancy Services
June 20th 2005 to October 2005
Duties included bookkeeping using Sage Line 50, VAT returns, accounts preparation and capital gains tax
calculations.

3. Self Employed Driving Instructor
April 2002 – June 2005
Duties included driving tuition, timekeeping, and communication skills.
Alarm Receiving Centre Operator
Westcountry Security
July 2001 – March 2002
Duties included answering the telephone and answering alarm notifications, dealing with emergency services.
I was also involved with organising engineer visits.
Qualifications and Education
Professional Qualifications: Chartered Management Accountant (CIMA)
NVQ Level 4 (Technician) (FM)AAT
Higher Education: HND Countryside Recreation Management
A Level Courses: Mathematics (E), French (N)
GCSE Courses: English Language (C) English Literature (C)
Mathematics (C) Double Award Science (C) (C)
French (C) Music (C)
Integrated Humanities (C) Information Studies (C)
Business Studies (E)
Hobbies & Interests
I like to be outdoors, and enjoy kayaking, rowing, walking and mountain biking. I am also Treasurer of the
Wembury Sailing Club and Chairman of the Yealm Gig Rowing Club.
Referees
Mr Alan Hawken
Company Secretary, The Rivers Trust
5 Meadow Close,St Stephen, St Austell, Cornwall, PL26 7PE
Mr James Goudie
Financial Controller, Regional Hearing Services Ltd
111-113 Fore Street, Saltash, Cornwall, PL12 6AE