Slade and Cooper Directors
Sue Cooper
Having left Sussex University with a degree in Social Anthropology, Sue worked in the creative industries in Manchester and for an arts charity (York Arts Centre) in various roles including finance which led her to train as an accountant at a small firm in York. She qualified with ACCA in 1991 and recently obtained the Diploma in Charity Accounting.
Sue came to work with Janet Slade at J. Slade & Co in 1992 and they formed the partnership Slade and Cooper (later Slade & Cooper Limited) in 1994. She has taken many different roles within the firm and is currently responsible for human resources and chairs the Green Group in the organisation, which is looking at working in a more environmentally sustainable way.
“Since my teens I’ve been involved in a wide range of voluntary sector activities, campaigns and political activism,” says Sue. “This has often involved the arts – film, music and dance – I’ve played in a number of bands from punk rock to klezmer and taught klezmer dance.”
Sue is currently the treasurer of the New Mills Allotment and Gardening Society and a member of the Board of Directors of Greenpeace UK. She lives with her partner in the High Peak leading a full life now that their daughter has left home to pursue a career in green chemistry.
Jim Gore-Langton
Before Jim became an accountant, he spent a number of years living and working in an experimental self-sustaining rural community, a collection of houses high up on the Peak District moors with its own printing and publishing business. People living there had an excellent balance between work, domestic life and leisure and were able to learn and share skills and resources in a very co-operative way.
Jim picked up his initial book-keeping training in this community, and learned some accounting skills from Janet Slade who was the organisation's auditor. “Jim joined Slade and Cooper as a trainee accountant in 1994, received his accountancy qualification in 1997, and became a partner in the firm in 2002. He's a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and recently obtained the Diploma in Charity Accounting.
Slade and Cooper is a member of the Charity Practitioners' Forum, which is an association of accountants specialising in charities. It aims to share knowledge, develop best practice and provide training on charity accounting and related issues. Jim takes an active role in the CPF and is currently the association’s Secretary.
“I still live in a rural location close to the Pennines, with my wife Julie and sometimes our two children, who are in the process of moving away from home,” says Jim. “My main interest outside work and family is my Buddhist practice which I have been following for about 20 years. I also very much enjoy hill-walking, playing a bit of volleyball, and vegetarian cookery.”
Paul Cowham
Paul has been at Slade and Cooper since early 2004. He trained in a small practice in Old Trafford between 1997 and 2000 and is ACA qualified and recently gained his Diploma in Charity Accounting. Two areas of work that interest him in particular are governance and VAT, both of which can have a major impact on the clients he works with.
“In my job, I am lucky enough to work with a very diverse range of organisations and people,” says Paul. “Despite being an accountant my job is certainly not boring! I enjoy working with the voluntary sector and with any organisations that are passionate about what they do.”
Paul enjoys playing acoustic music on the guitar and mandolin, especially bluegrass and Irish music “with a bit of dawg and klezmer thrown in”. He heard about Slade and Cooper through Sue Cooper who he met a number of years ago through playing klezmer music. In 2007 he played in a bluegrass band at the bottom of the bill “on the smallest stage at Glastonbury!” He also works on a voluntary basis helping to organise the Mossley Music festival (Mozfest) which is an annual free community music and arts festival held in Mossley.