 The
Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA),
the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy
(CIPFA) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in
England and Wales (ICAEW) today (Thursday) announced
how they intend to progress their proposals to consolidate.
In December, the governing Councils of all three bodies
reaffirmed their commitment to consolidation as the
best way forward for the modern profession. CIMA Council
however, expressed concern that the draft blueprint
for a new constitution did not sufficiently address
their specific requirements and requested more time
to consider and revise the detailed proposals on offer.
Following Council meetings in February a two stage
process has been negotiated to help facilitate CIMA
while at the same time maintaining a strong forward
momentum.
Subject to the agreement of their respective Councils
in March, Stage 1 will involve the integration of CIPFA
and the ICAEW on detailed terms which will be put to
the memberships of both bodies no later than Autumn
2005. A pathfinder prospectus will be published in March/April
which will set out the detailed case for integrating
the two Institutes.
In tandem CIPFA and the ICAEW will continue to work
closely with CIMA with a view to securing agreement
from all three Councils on a revised platform on which
to bring CIMA on board. Subject to the success of these
negotiations, proposals will be put to the memberships
of all three bodies as soon as appropriate and no later
than 2006.
CIMA President, Roland Kaye said:
'A huge amount of effort has gone into defining the
shape of the new Institute. Each
organisation has unique strengths and defined interests
and CIMA’s Council is keen for its
distinctiveness to be reflected in the new consolidated
institute. CIMA along with CIPFA and ICAEW remains fully
committed to consolidation and will be working hard
to resolve rapidly any outstanding issues. The two stage
process identified will create the space for us to get
the terms of this critically important proposal absolutely
right for all parties.'
CIPFA and ICAEW Presidents, Mike Barnes and Paul Druckman
said:
'We believe that this two stage approach allows us
to put early detailed proposals to our members while
the three bodies continue to negotiate the full consolidation
proposal. By initially combining forces ICAEW and CIPFA
will set a powerful precedent for what can be achieved.
At the same time this approach will create a pathway
for CIMA to be part of the phased consolidation process
which we will be actively helping facilitate.'
Building on the existing strengths and specialisms
and gaining efficiencies which can be re-invested to
improve effectiveness a combined Institute will have
significant influence with Governments, regulators,
and industry stakeholders enabling us to support members
more effectively throughout their careers.
View the press release in full: www.cipfa.org.uk/press_show.cfm?news_id=22981
Visit the Consolidation website: www.cipfa.org.uk/consolidation/
 It
has been 3 months since the launch of the Improvement
Network website which was developed and is supported
jointly by the Audit Commission, CIPFA, the Employers'
Organisation and the IDeA. The site aims to be a freely
accessible one-stop shop offering a wealth of information,
tools and techniques for improving local public services.
The time is now ripe to gain your feedback. Please tell
us what you think by taking a few moments to complete
the survey: www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=67519845909
The student section of the CIPFA website has been voted
overall winner in PASS Magazine's annual review of professional
accountancy body websites. This achievement reflects
CIPFA's ongoing commitment to developing online services
and ensuring that the most up-to-date resources are
available to students online. Read more: www.cipfa.org.uk/eandt/current/show_notice.cfm?news_id=22889
 CIPFA
returns to its birthplace city for the 2005 annual conference
- 120 years after it was founded at a meeting in Manchester
Town Hall. The conference will take place at the modern
International Convention Centre with the exhibition
in the adjacent G-Mex - a former Victorian railway terminus,
marrying the historic and modern aspects of this rejuvenated
city - and perfectly complementing this year's theme
of 'Building Innovative Enterprising Public Services'.
Confirmed speakers include:
TONY BENN, Veteran Labour Politician
GEORGE BLACK, Chief Executive, Glasgow
City Council
JOHN HAWKSWORTH, Head of Macroeconomics
Unit, PwC
TONY HEGARTY, World Bank
SIR DAVID HENSHAW, Chief Executive,
Liverpool City Council
LIN HOMER, Chief Executive, Birmingham
City Council
DR GEOFF MULGAN, Director, Institute
of Community Studies
GERALDINE PEACOCK, Chair, Charities
Commission
BARRY QUIRK, Chief Executive, London
Borough of Lewisham
MARK SERWOTKA, General Secretary, Public
& Commercial Services Union
SIMON STEVENS, President, UnitedHealth
Europe
JAMES STRACHAN, Chairman, Audit Commission
TONY TRAVERS, Director, Greater London
Group, LSE
GRAHAM WARD, President, IFAC
The conference provides an opportunity for delegates
to hear and participate in debates concerning a variety
of key themes for the leaders, managers and finance
advisors of the public services and to attend a selection
of interactive workshops held in partnership with organisations
such as the Audit Commission and the Department for
International Development.
The event also welcomes students and newly qualified
members to the annual 'Career Conference'. Designed
to be informative and good fun, the Career Conference
is a great opportunity to meet fellow students and members
of the Institute in a very relaxed and welcoming environment.
All delegates are invited to the annual Public Reporting
and Accountability Awards ceremony on Tuesday 14 June.
For further details about this Awards scheme, please
see below.
To request a copy of the full conference programme
and booking form (available from March) contact margot.gallie@cipfa.org.
The CPD guidelines have been revised to include in-depth
advice and support on how members can participate in
the CPD scheme. To download a copy of the guidelines,
please visit www.cipfa.org.uk/cpd/guidelines.cfm.
The online Membership Secure Area offers a number of
benefits to members and students, enabling them to:
view the online directory; update their personal details;
review details of the voluntary work they do
for CIPFA; log an enquiry with the Technical Enquiry
Service and track its progress; view their membership
balance and check that payment has reached us; and view
their grade of membership and how subscriptions are
paid - by cheque, credit card or direct debit. Register
now at http://members.cipfa.org/
or learn more at
www.cipfa.org.uk/members/secure.cfm.
 These
prestigious awards, run by Public Finance magazine
in partnership with CIPFA, the Cabinet Office and the
Office of Government Commerce, seek to recognise and
reward excellence and outstanding achievement of individuals
and teams from Britain's 4 million public sector workers.
A small number of the 17 award categories are still
available for sponsorship: visit www.publicservants.org.uk
for details.
Awards sponsors receive a generous package of benefits,
including advertising in Public Finance magazine
and tickets to the awards ceremony at the Grosvenor
House Hotel in London on Thursday 21 April. To learn
more about becoming a sponsor contact mike.spray@publicfinance.co.uk.
Tickets are available for the awards ceremony. For
your chance to be amongst the guests at this important
occasion, hosted by Dermot Murnaghan and Mary Nightingale,
contact helen.mcdonnell@cipfa.org.
Special rates are available to public sector organisations
and companies who sponsor or exhibit at CIPFA's annual
conference.
www.publicservants.org.uk
 There
is still time to submit an entry for the CIPFA/PriceWaterhouseCoopers
Public Reporting and Accountability Awards - the deadline
is 28 February 2005. This scheme aims to encourage excellence
in public reporting and to identify and celebrate the
best practice organisations whose imaginative approaches
help to achieve real advances in accountability. Entry
is simple - all organisations have to do is send a 500
word description of their overall public reporting strategy
and include three public documents illustrating their
approach in practice. These might include annual reports,
corporate or other plans, performance reports or newsletters.
Any activities (such as an innovative website) which
raise awareness of the strategy should be highlighted
in the 500-word statement. Winners will be announced
at the CIPFA Conference in Manchester on Tuesday 14
June. All finalists receive a free delegate place at
the conference.
For more information and to enter online please email
helen.mcdonnell@cipfa.org
or visit the awards website:
www.cipfa.org.uk/accountability |
Ok,
so some of them may resemble Klingons, but the CIPFA
lecturers have a reputation throughout this solar system
for the dedication, enthusiasm and commitment they give
to their students and courses. The (now award winning!)
National Students Forum annually present an inter-galactic
‘Excellence in Education’ award to the lecturer
who they feel has boldly gone where…. well, you
know the rest! Previous winners have included Ian ‘Bones’
Bowler and Graham ‘Spock’ Ball.
Full
programme details are available online, including information
on the workshops. Latest updates also include confirmation
of the closing address by Tom McCabe, Scottish Minister
for Finance and Public Service Reform. 
