Sue Bunting has served the Norwich Diocesan Board of Finance as the Director of Finance for almost 14 years. She joined the Diocese in 2011 from Lovewell Blake Chartered Accountants. Sue had been involved in the audit for the Diocese for 16 years before joining us, so a total of nearly 30 years combined!
In her time at the Diocese, Sue has created a stable and consistent diocesan finance function focused on support for local churches. This has involved much support through Treasurer’s workshops, meeting with PCC members, securing external grants for diocesan and local activities and being on hand for advice and guidance whenever needed, including through many local visits. Sue was also a co-author of ‘PCC Accountability – The Charities Act 2011 and the PCC’, a published guide to help our Treasurers and PCC members prepare their PCC accounts.
As well as supporting the Finance team, she has more latterly also had wider responsibilities, which has seen her lead cost-saving initiatives in areas such as IT, distribution of GDPR resources for local churches and improved data analysis to support mission and ministry planning. For a three-month period, she also covered the Diocesan Secretary role during a vacancy and has deputised for throughout her time with us. She is moving to the World Land Trust in January 2025, as Head of Finance, based in Suffolk.
Sue says:
“It has been a very big decision to leave, I have enjoyed my time with the Diocese immensely, but I want to seek the best balance of life, family and work in this next stage of my life. I leave knowing that I have given my best to the people of our Diocese and in the hope that I have made a difference to our lives together by creating confidence and stability. I have had the pleasure of meeting a great number of wonderful people over the years which helped me develop a clear and deep understanding of the remarkable work of the wider Diocese in our parishes. I am delighted to be moving to serve another wonderful charity, The World Land Trust, an international conservation charity that protects the world’s most biologically significant and threatened habitats, where I hope I can contribute to their wonderful work.”
Tim Sweeting, the Diocesan Secretary says:
“Sue has performed her role with great skill and commitment over so many years and is well known across the Diocese for her technical expertise and encyclopaedic knowledge. She has been such a faithful servant of the Diocese and we will miss her greatly, but wish her all the very best for this next season.”
Sue will be leaving the Diocese at the end of December 2024. The role has been advertised and we hope to appoint early in 2025.
In the meantime, if you have any questions regarding parish finance, please contact the finance team members, their details can be found at www.dioceseofnorwich.org/finance-and-it-team/