Katharine Spindler, a CIPFA financial management trainee
from Hertfordshire County Council was awarded the 2004
John Sandbach award at a ceremony held recently at the
CIPFA Education and Training Centre (CETC) in London.
The award is presented to the CETC student achieving
the highest marks at Diploma or P2 level of study in
the CIPFA Professional Accountancy Qualification examinations.
Kirsten Gillingham, newly appointed chair of the CETC
Governing Body, presented Katharine with the prize which
was established in 2003 by the Governing Body in honour
of its late chairman and CIPFA Council
member, John Sandbach.
 CETC
is offering fresh courses for the CIPFA Diploma in Public
Audit (DPA) starting in September 2005 at centres in
London, Birmingham, Bristol and Edinburgh.
The DPA is a unique one-year public sector focused
qualification, delivered through face-to-face tuition.
The qualification is directly relevant to those new
to auditing as well as more experienced auditors looking
to formalise and extend their knowledge. Graduates of
the CIPFA DPA can benefit from increased professional
recognition following the recent confirmation of designatory
letters DPA (CIPFA) and CIPFA Affiliate membership status.
For further details of the courses available, please
contact the CETC on 020 7403 4300 or visit www.cetc.org.uk
or email enquiries@cetc.org.uk.
CIPFA, in conjunction with CETC, will be offering
a series of workshops in the autumn to support students
studying for December’s PAQ examinations. Each
workshop will be based on a PAQ module and will focus
on specific topics taken from the syllabus. While the
main objective will be the development of good examination
technique, the use of standard examination questions
will give students the opportunity to clarify their
understanding of certain concepts and techniques in
each syllabus.
The one-day workshops will be delivered by professionally
qualified tutors at a number of venues in the UK. All
currently registered students have been sent a questionnaire
asking for feedback on their preferred locations. Following
analysis of this feedback, further details regarding
the dates and topics will be available from Joanne on
020 7543 5621 or by emailing joanne.pashley@cipfa.org.
 The
South East Region is delighted to be involved in the
organisation of this year's Conference for the Regions
and looks forward to welcoming delegates from the ten
CIPFA Regions.
The programme includes a variety of workshops as well
as plenary sessions. As with the 2004 Conference a facilitator
will be involved to help shape discussions, identify
key issues and capture action points for future implementation.
View the 2005 programme: www.cipfa.org.uk/regions/conf_reg.cfm
The North East students' society website has been
relaunched and now features the latest news from the
society as well as recent jobs, forthcoming events and
a useful contact lists for both Northern and Southern
divisions.
www.cipfa.org.uk/regions/ness/contacts.cfm
The CIPFA Northern Ireland branch website has been
relaunched and is now dedicated solely to the needs
of branch members. Feedback from members on this service
is greatly valued: if you would like to help shape the
future development of the site, please contact heather.cousins@dsd.ni.gov.uk
www.cipfa.org.uk/regions/ni/
A separate website which focuses on the work of CIPFA
in Northern Ireland exists at www.cipfa.org.uk/ni/
 The
2005 Conference focuses on the dichotomy between, on
the one hand the need for radical improvement in public
services that takes account of local needs and citizen's
choice, and on the other hand the need to improve efficiency
and accountability to ensure that best use is being
made of public funds. For more details visit www.cipfa.org.uk/regions/ni/events_details.cfm?events_id=2411
LASAAC has recently produced a draft paper entitled
'The Statutory Basis for Accounting for, and Disclosure
of, Reserves in Local Authorities in Scotland'. The
paper outlines disclosure requirements for reserves
set against an explanation of the detailed legislative
background which currently exists in Scotland. The paper
is available for immediate practical use by local authorities
by download [PDF 107KB]:
www.cipfa.org.uk/scotland/download/Draft_Statement_on_Reserves.pdf
Comments on the paper should be submitted to lasaac@cipfa.org
Accounting for Partnerships - 30 August, Edinburgh
The purpose of this training course is to provide guidance
on the key issues to be aware of when accounting for
partnerships. The course will ensure that accounting
is set in the overall context of partnerships and
includes budgeting and initial appraisal.
www.cipfa.org.uk/scotland/events_details.cfm?events_ID=2475
Financial Reporting Standards - 7 September,
Edinburgh
This course will provide an overview of selected Financial
Reporting Standards, along with practical examples.
The programme will cover FRS 17 Retirement Benefits;
FRS 25 Financial Instruments Disclosure &
Presentation; SSAP 21 Accounting for Leases & Hire
Purchase Contracts; FRS 18 Accounting Policies; and
FRS 21 Events After the Balance Sheet Date.
www.cipfa.org.uk/scotland/events_details.cfm?events_ID=1740
Introduction to Capital Accounting in Local
Government - 11 October, Glasgow
This course is for finance personnel who are new to
capital accounting in local government and need a basic
but comprehensive understanding of how the accounting
framework works.
www.cipfa.org.uk/scotland/events_details.cfm?events_ID=2497
5 October
Local Government VAT: General VAT Awareness
26 October Local
Government VAT: Partial Exemption and Land & Property
17 November Local
Government VAT: External Funding
25 January Local
Government VAT: Education
For more training courses and events in Scotland visit
www.cipfa.org.uk/scotland/events.cfm
In the coming months, IPF Training, in conjunction
with PricewaterhouseCoopers’s Public Sector team,
will be presenting a programme of VAT training sessions
in England.
www.ipftraining.net/courses/openengwal/outlines/default.asp?section=02
Could yours be the public sector finance team of the
year? CIMA are looking for entries in their Financial
Management Awards 2005 and are encouraging finance teams
to tell them about their successes. The entry
deadline is 15 September and a copy of the entry form
is available at www.cimaglobal.com/awards2005
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A
case study booklet, funded by the CIPFA/DFID SGA, is
being developed as a communication tool to promote to
members the career benefits of undertaking International
Development work. CIPFA therefore invites members with
experience of working in the poorest developing countries,
primarily in Africa and Asia, to be featured as case
studies in the booklet. For further details on the specific
information required from applicants, visit 
Subscribe to the CIPFA courses, conferences and publications
e-newsletter between now and 31 December and we will
enter your name into a free prize draw to win a voucher
worth £750 (1st prize), £500
(2nd prize) or £250 (3rd prize)
to spend on CIPFA books. To subscribe and enter the
free prize draw, please email 
