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The CIPFA FM Model is a web-based self-assessment tool that
examines financial management in the public services. It tests
how an organisation measures up against 42 good practice statements.
You can then score your performance and gain a clear picture
of where your organisation is at.
For a demonstration please click
here.
After a very successful year - 100% pass rate - Liverpool
John Moores University is offering this course again, starting
on 24th September. It is vital that auditors receive modern,
practice based training in this area and LJMU provide this
on a day release basis. Students starting in September 2004
can sit their final assessments to gain a highly regarded
audit qualification in June 2005. Full details http://www.cipfa.org.uk/newsletters/download/FlyerDPA.doc
The ODPM is consulting local authorities on a new system
for local government PFI grant, whose aim is to achieve a
better level playing field relative to support provided for
borrowing. The consultation can be found on the ODPM website
at www.local.odpm.gov.uk/pfi/index.htm
and the deadline for responses is 15 October.
CIPFA’s recently completed International Development
Survey has identified that there is a significant proportion
of CIPFA members and students who are interested in knowing
more about International Development issues and the institutes’
work in this area. Members and students registered strong
support for the Strategic Grant Agreement with DFID. In addition
many members and students have indicated that they or their
organisations have experience and skills that they would be
willing to share to promote International Development objectives.
For further information about the survey check the executive
summary and survey analysis on the CIPFA website http://www.cipfa.org.uk/international/development.cfm.
If you have any questions about the survey or the SGA with
DFID please contact Christine New, International Development
Manager, christine.new@cipfa.org.
CIPFA has responded to the recent Scottish Executive consultation
paper on the proposal to merge the FE and HE Councils into
the Scottish Tertiary Education Funding Council. CIPFA has
drawn attention to some of the financial management issues
facing the proposed merger. You can read CIPFA's comments
here.
The CIPFA in Scotland Best Value Conference
– 24 September 2004 – Edinburgh
Scotland’s most high profile Best Value event, since
it’s implementation in 2003, will provide delegates
with a unique opportunity to hear and share improvement initiatives
while preparing local authorities for the audit process. Read
more
Community Planning Conference: The Impact
– 30 September 2004 – Edinburgh
The introduction of the Local Government in Scotland 2003
required all local authorities to facilitate the Community
Planning process. This conference will examine how Community
Planning has been implemented and will provide future guidance
to all interested partners. Read
more
25-08-2004 Introduction
to Local Government Finance in Scotland: Workshop, Edinburgh
07-09-2004 General
VAT Awareness, Edinburgh
06-10-2004 VAT:
Partial Exemption and Land & Property Seminar, Edinburgh
22 & 23-10-2004 The
Weekend School, Stirling
02-12-2004 VAT:
External Funding Seminar, Edinburgh
Autumn 2004 Introductory
Diploma In Management, Glasgow
Autumn 2004 Best
Practice In Project Management, Edinburgh
Autumn 2004 Best
Practice In Performance Management, Edinburgh
Autumn 2004 CIPFA
Diploma in Public Audit, Edinburgh
10 & 11 March 2005 CIPFA
in Scotland Annual Conference & Exhibition, Glasgow
This year, the CIPFA in Wales Conference takes the theme
of “Striving for Excellence”, building on the
successful strategies employed by public services in Wales,
aimed at improvements in quality and service delivery. A carefully
designed programme addresses the crucial issue of ‘how
are we doing?’ The success of the event - now in its
4th year - means that very senior figures from throughout
the public services in Wales and beyond are keen to take part
and include:
- Dr Dafydd Iwan, President and Leader of Plaid Cymru
- Kim Ryley, Chief Executive, Rhondda Cynon Taff CBC
- Sheila Drury, Chair, Education & Learning in Wales
- Roger Jones, Chairman, Welsh Development Agency
- Julian Kingzett, Project Manager, Wales Audit Office
Integration Programme
- Dr Emyr Roberts, Chief Executive, Welsh European Funding
Office
- Sir Jon Shortridge, Permanent Secretary, National Assembly
for Wales
This is also the second year that the event has been residential,
incorporating the CIPFA in Wales Annual Dinner and the pre-dinner
speaker will be David Cornock, BBC Wales Westminster Correspondent.
If you would like further information regarding this event
please click
here.
A new programme of training courses will be introduced into
Wales in the autumn in collaboration with colleagues from
IPF. These courses will be geared towards anyone working within
the public sector in Wales and who view the available topics
either as tools for improving the effectiveness of an individual’s
existing role or as a means of knowledge expansion and professional
development. Some courses will be appropriate for those will
little formal training in public sector finance but on whom
there is an expectation that the effective and efficient management
of public funds is one of their key responsibilities. A comprehensive
list of courses is provided via www.cipfa.org.uk/wales/events.cfm
or a brochure may be requested by contacting wales@cipfa.org
The Welsh Assembly Government's consultation period in relation
to the above recently closed and CIPFA submitted a verbal
response. As a consequence, the Institute has been invited
to participate in a WAG Stakeholder Group which will now meet
early in September to further consider and finalise these
regulations. If you would wish CIPFA to consider any issues
in relation to these regulations please submit your points
to patrick.clackett@cipfa.org
as soon as possible.
A new programme of training courses is being offered in
Newcastle Upon Tyne and Leeds from September 2004 onwards.
These courses are geared specifically for those people working
in the Public Sector, and they will either be of one or two
day duration.
There is a wide selection of courses on offer ranging from
the more technical type such as Accounting Standards and Contract
Audit to the less technical such as Finance for the Non Financial
Manager; Process Mapping and the Balanced Scorecard. These
courses will allow staff to improve or broaden their skills
and keep up to date on current issues. More details and an
online booking form are available on our website at www.cipfa.org.uk/regions/ne.
Or if you wish to receive a copy of the programme, please
send an e-mail request to kathryn.sloan@ipf.co.uk.
13- Sep 2004 On
Board Leeds
15-16 Sep 2004 Contract
Audit Leeds
15-Sep 2004 Resource
Budgeting Workshop Newcastle Upon Tyne
16-Sep 2004 Economic
Appraisal Newcastle Upon Tyne
21-22 Sep 2004 Finance
for Non-Financial Managers Newcastle Upon Tyne
23-24 Sep 2004 Finance
for Non-Financial Managers Leeds
27-Sep 2004 Process
Mapping and Process Benchmarking Newcastle Upon Tyne
28-Sep 2004 Balanced
Scorecard Workshop Newcastle Upon Tyne
29-Sep 2004 Accounting
Standards Update Leeds
Three Public Management and Policy Association (PMPA) lectures
have been confirmed for autumn 2004, others are being finalised:
- 9 September Edward Davey - MP Funding Public Services
- 7 October Sir Michael Lyons - Well placed to deliver?
- 30 November Ed Straw - Are we ready? Civil Service reform
The latest PMPA publication ‘Public Accountability
in Practice – The Need for Public Scrutiny’ authored
by Jane Martin of The Centre for Public Scrutiny – is
now available.
For further information on PMPA events, publications and
membership rates, please see http://www.cipfa.org.uk/pmpa.
* Independent Commission on Good Governance in Public Services
Progress with the work of the Independent Commission on Good
Governance in Public Services, supported by CIPFA and Office
for Public Management (OPM), can be viewed at http://www.opm.co.uk/ICGGPS/index.htm.
A second consultation round will commence in late August.
Following written evidence submitted by CIPFA/OPM, the Independent
Commission’s Chair, Sir Alan Langlands, gave evidence
to the Committee on Standards in Public Life’s 10th
Inquiry on 13 July. He was supported by Vernon Soare from
CIPFA and Adrienne Fresko from OPM.
The CIPFA June exams sitting proved extremely popular this
year, with a record number of students taking and passing
their exams this summer and many taking the new Certificate
stage exams in the new modular Professional Accountancy Qualification
(PAQ).
CIPFA’s Education and Training Director Ken Gill was
particularly pleased with the smooth transition to the new
PAQ – launched on a phased basis in September 2003 –
and some strong results it has produced in its first test.
At Certificate stage (which broadly equates to Foundation
and Professional One (P1)), the new Financial Accounting paper
achieved an 80% pass rate against 68% in its equivalent paper
in 2003. The P1 Audit paper from the existing PAQ gained an
impressive 84% pass rate compared to 55% last year. The new
Certificate stage Financial Reporting paper saw a 60% pass
rate compared to just half of students passing its equivalent
Accounting Theory and Practice paper in 2003.
Strong performance at existing PAQ Professional Two (P2)
level saw three papers beating the previous year’s pass
rate. Results for the Finance & Management Case Study
at Professional Three (P3) saw a slight dip on 2003 and less
than half of candidates this time around passed the Project.
Ken Gill said:
“CIPFA had 30% more students sitting exams this June,
which shows the popularity of our new modular PAQ. There are
certainly some good and encouraging results at the new PAQ
Certificate stage and at existing P2 level also. I congratulate
our hardworking students, their employers and their teachers.
However, P3 presents a definite challenge to candidates, employers,
colleges and universities alike. We need to make sure we maintain
our student support for this stage in the qualification during
the transitional period between the existing and the new PAQ.
There can be no room for complacency in CIPFA studies.”
On 30 June and 1 July, the National Student Forum (NSF)
held its annual conference, in conjunction with the Association
of CIPFA Lecturers (ACIPFAL). The conference was well attended
by students, academics and senior CIPFA members, and it was
felt that the event had raised the profile of the Forum and
of CIPFA students generally. The next NSF meeting will be
held in October, in Bristol. For more information on the Forum,
contact Lisa Doody on 020 7543 5896 or at lisa.doody@cipfa.org.
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Due to popular demand the Freedom of Information and
Tendering workshops will be run again later this year
in Glasgow on 5 October, Manchester on 30 November,
Edinburgh on 1 December and Birmingham on 9 December.
CIPFA PAC is running a series of events on the new
EU Consolidated Procurement Directive on 7 September
in Birmingham and 8 September in Leeds. Additional events
in Glasgow and Cardiff are currently being planned due
to request from members and non-members.
Launched in July, the new quarterly Procurement Watch
will complement PACBrief and the Weekly News Update
produced by the CIPFA PAC Forum.
For more information about CIPFA PAC visit: www.ipf.co.uk/procurement/pac.
This one day masterclass for housing professionals
will take place on 17 September in Birmingham, 20 September
in York and 24 September in London. It will offer delegates
the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the new
CPA methodology ahead of its formal implementation in
2005. For more information visit: www.ipf.co.uk/bestvalue/bvq/housing. |
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Key speakers at this year's CIPFA Better Governance
include: Sir Alistair Graham, Chair, Committee on Standards
in Public Life; Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur,
Specialist Crime Division, Metropolitan Police; Peter
Dorrington, Head of Fraud Solutions, SAS Institute;
Sir Michael Bichard, Rector, The London Institute; Jim
Gee, Chief Executive, NHS Counter Fraud and Security
Management Service; Paul Simpkins, Senior Policy Officer
(Governance), City of Bradford MDC and Lisa Klein, Senior
Ethical Standards Officer, Standards Board For England.
There will be a gala dinner for delegates on the evening
of 28 October. Delegate places are limited so you are
advised to book early. CIPFA Better Governance Forum
subscribers are entitled to use their free places at
this conference.
Further details and a copy of the full conference brochure
is available at www.ipf.co.uk/governance/events/turningthetide.pdf
For more information about other CIPFA Better Governance
Forum events visit: www.ipf.co.uk/governance/events/default.asp
New counter fraud publications are now available from
the CIPFA Better Governance Forum website, for more
information visit: www.ipf.co.uk/governance/marketplace
The CIPFA Better Governance Forum's Advisory Panel
has been split into four sub groups along the lines
of the forum's four streams: Risk Management, Counter
Fraud, Ethical Standards and Information Governance.
For more information about the Forum's Advisory Panel
visit: www.ipf.co.uk/governance/advisorypanel.htm.
21 October 2004, London
The challenge to public sector organisations is to
be more efficient while still keeping a firm focus on
customer needs and the ability to deliver. In practice
this means improving services while cutting costs, continuously
developing staff and managing the change agenda. So
what change is needed to ensure that performance improvement
will be visible and really valued by communities?
The CIPFA IQN Conference is for public sector leaders
and managers who play a key role in determining the
future of their organisation. For more information about
the conference visit: www.ipf.co.uk/bestvalue/cqf |
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| NHS Finance: Workforce Planning
and Funding Issues
14 September 2004, London More...
CIPFA Central Government Conference
22-23 September 2004, London More...
Procurement & Contract Management for Health
Service Managers
28 September 2004, London More...
The CIPFA Health Finance Conference
7-8 October, York More...
Current Developments in Education Finance
12 October 2004, London More... |
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| Best Value Accounting: Code
of Practice 2004 - binder/loose-leaf version (England
& Wales) (Available 8 October 2004) (new purchasers)
More...
An Introductory Guide to Social Services Finance
(Fully Revised Second Edition) (Available 10 September)
More...
The CIPFA FM Model: Improving Financial Management
and Effectiveness in the Public Service (Website
live 3 August 2004)
More...
Further Education Finance Manual (Fully Revised
Second Edition) 2004 (Available 20 August)
More...
The Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local
Authorities: Guidance Notes for Practitioners
(Available 31 August)
More... |
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The CIPFA group has a number of training
and conference rooms which are available for hire in
various central London locations:
CIPFA, Robert Street (WC2N). Charing
Cross/Embankment stations. For further information,
visit http://www.cipfa.org.uk
conference_centre.cfm
CETC, Borough High Street (SE1).
Borough station. Contact marilyn.clarke@cipfa.org
for details.
IPF, Queen Anne's Gate (SW1H). St
James Park station. Contact Conf.Centre@ipf.co.uk
for details.
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The President and Chief Executive will attend the Annual
Conference for the Regional which is being held in Douglas,
Isle of Man on 8-10 September.
The Chief Executive will address the LGA Balance of
Funding conference on 15 September at Church House Conference
Centre, London on 'Shifting the Balance of Funding -
A local income tax'.
The President will be attending the South East CIPFA
Summer Conference which is being held on 16-18 September
at Wantage Hall in Reading.
The Public Sector Committee of FEE, the European regional
accountants umbrella group, is organising a joint conference
on the implementation of accruals accounting with the
European Commission, which has launched its own initiative
to migrate to the accruals basis of reporting. FEE PSC
is chaired by Caroline Mawhood, a CIPFA Council member
and Assistant Auditor-General at the National Audit
Office. The Conference will take place in Brussels on
September 27 and will be attended by the President and
Chief Executive. Speakers from a number of European
countries, including the UK, will highlight issues relating
to their approach to public sector financial reporting.
The Conference will be opened by Michaele Schreyer,
the current EC Budget Commissioner and closed by David
Devlin, President of FEE. |
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