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.”
Katie Hall
has been made a principal of the practice from 2012 and has been with Slade and Cooper since January 2004 when she started as a trainee. She qualified as an accountant through ACCA in 2007, gained the Diploma in Charity Accounting and has been a manager at the practice for the past five years.
Katie has experience of both working and volunteering for charities and community groups as well as being self-employed. She originally heard of Slade and Cooper from two members of a bike co-op whilst cycling through the Cheshire countryside, who said “they are accountants but they’re very nice”. Katie prides herself on the fact that she is one of the few ACCA qualified accountants that also has a degree in acting and a City and Guilds in specialist decorative finishes.
"Working for Slade & Cooper has given me the opportunity to work and develop within a supportive environment where people respect the diverse nature of experience both throughout our clients and within the firm."
Katie still takes a keen interest in the arts, having trained as an actor many years ago, enjoys the outdoors and is a recent convert to off road and distance running.