PCG PASSES ISO9001 SURVEILLANCE AUDIT

On Friday, PCG passed its first annual ISO9001 external surveillance audit, which is the precondition for retaining its ISO9001 certification. This is an external verification that PCG's business processes are sound and that PCG is complying with them and demonstrating "continuous improvement".

The auditor highlighted the comprehensive and detailed methodologies that PCG applies to assess customer satisfaction.

Chairman Simon Juden said, "I am naturally delighted with the outcome of this audit and would like to thank all those members of the team for the hard work that they put into retaining our ISO9001 status, Colin Sansome of BQI Consulting for guiding us and acting as our internal auditor, and Richard Robson, of course, for driving through the whole process of attaining and retaining the standard."

Director Chris Woollacott will assume responsibility for PCG's ISO9001 certification and "continuous improvement" over the coming year.

BCS PRESIDENT CHAIRS PCG STAKEHOLDER EVENT

PCG hosted its first event dedicated to friends of PCG and the freelance contracting and consulting community last week, attracting delegates from a diverse range of organisations. David Morriss, president of the British Computer Society (BCS), chaired the event.

Guest speaker Alan Horn, chief executive of Albemarle Interim Management plc, said, "The dynamics of PCG in terms of being responsible and focused on the real issues was evident throughout the morning, and we will continue to recommend PCG to potential interim managers as we already do on our website."

According to Simon Juden, the event was extremely worthwhile. "Our relationships with complementary organisations and key stakeholders in the freelance marketplace are very important," he said, "and help ensure that PCG continues to be recognised as the representative voice of the professional consultant and contractor. I would like to thank David Morriss for chairing our first Friends' Day event, and all those Affiliate members and friends who joined us."

AGM SATURDAY 20 NOVEMBER 2004

The PCG annual general meeting will be held at 16:00 on Saturday 20 November in London, and all members have been sent a formal notification by email.

ARCTIC FUND APPEAL

PCG is calling for public support to fund its appeal against a recent case which has huge implications for tens of thousands of family businesses.

The S660 case, involving Geoff and Diana Jones and their company Arctic Systems, is regarded as a landmark in tax legislation and interpretation. It now appears that there is a growing body of expert opinion (registration required) which believes that the ruling which found in favour of the Inland Revenue is in fact invalid.

How to donate

Donations should be made payable to "Professional Contractors Group Ltd" and sent to Legal Department, Professional Contractors Group Ltd, Sovereign Court, 635 Sipson Road, West Drayton UB7 0JE. Please email [email protected] or telephone 0845 125 9899 if you wish to send your donation via BACS.

Important note: If you wish to donate specifically for the Arctic appeal only, please specify whether you would like your donation returned to you in the event of PCG ultimately winning the case, or whether you would prefer it to be donated to a charity of your choice, such as TaxAid.

PCG (QS) BETA GROUP WORKSHOP

On Sunday, a group of 17 beta testers participated in the first PCG (QS) workshop with Peter Ellis of BVQI, Colin Sansome of BQI Consulting and Mike Bendell of Qualsys at PCG's new offices in West Drayton. They were introduced to the documented Quality Management System (QMS) and electronic document management system (EQMS), both of which drew praise from participants who posted their enthusiastic feedback on the PCG-QS forum.

One beta tester commented that it had been time well spent, and wrote, "The expertise available to support the members' companies to gain the ISO9001 certification was apparent at the workshop and I personally would like to thank the whole team who hosted the meeting."

BANKING SURVEY

The subject of business banking frequently rears its head in the forums, and PCG is in discussion with a high street bank about developing a packaged business account especially for freelance contractors and consultants.

In order to assess how best this could be done to meet the needs of members and their businesses, an online survey has been commissioned. Please spend a few moments of your time to tell PCG about your banking needs and preferences.

COMMERCIAL FORUM PROJECT POSTINGS

For information about the latest job, project, contract and work opportunities, see PCG's Commercial forum, and Members' Commercial forum. The Commercial forum may be accessed by Affiliate members, and PCG welcomes postings by agencies.

Current opportunities include:

Symbian programmer

J2EE developers

Business objects developer - Manchester

REAL LIFE MEETINGS

Local real life meetings - known on the forums as "RLMs" - encourage members to socialise, network and discuss PCG issues. These meetings are open to all members, and in many cases non-members are welcome to come along too.

Farnborough: - Tuesday 23 November 2004 19:00
Prince of Wales, Farnborough

Shropshire - Thursday 25 November 2004
Coach and Horses, Shrewsbury

Sheffield - Wednesday 1 December 2004 19:30
Old Queen's Head opposite main railway station, Sheffield

Thames Valley/Maidenhead - Wednesday 1 December 2004 20:30
Meal at Sweeney and Todd, 10 Castle Street, Reading (bookings needed by 30 November)

Various members have also posted in the RLM forum about potential meetings in:

Basel, Bristol, Norwich, Swindon, and Winchester or Southampton.

OTHER EVENTS

AICS AGM and Conference - London, Saturday 27 November 2004
The Association of Independent Computer Specialists (AICS) will be holding its AGM and Conference at The East India Club, St. James', London on Saturday 27 November. The conference should be of particular interest to both ICT and non-ICT people.

PRINCE2 training
PCG Affiliate member Maven Training is running a series of PRINCE2 Foundation and Practitioner courses throughout December, and is offering a preferential discount of 15% to PCG members. For full details of dates, venue and fees and to book your course, visit the Maven Training website or call (020) 403 8020.

Disclaimer - caveat emptor - PCG carries very limited advertising only from known and reputable Affiliates and complementary organisations. Even so, publication of any advertisement carries no implicit or explicit endorsement by PCG.

Telephone: 0845 125 9899
Fax: 0845 644 4105

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