 Bournemouth, 12-14 June 2007
It's that time of the year again! The CIPFA Annual Conference - one of the largest in the public services calendar - offers a bold and imaginative programme of distinguished speakers.
Significant changes are once again in prospect in just about all parts of the UK’s multi-centred, multi-tiered public services. But what are the real drivers for policy change and what are the key choices available to policy makers? How much further change and progress is necessary and can realistically be delivered as the rate of growth in funding and investment slows?
We hope you will be there to play your part in a very important and stimulating debate which really matters.
Full conference programme information is now available from the website and you can
book your conference place now in several ways:
Find out about booking your stand at www.cipfa.org.uk/exhibitions/cipfa2007.cfm.
We are all used to the idea that change is a constant and very challenging dynamic in the public services. But what does that acceptance imply for the nature of services to the public in twenty years’ time? How will the vast array of change drivers – economic, social, environmental, technological, demographic – play out in the long term? And how will key audiences – politicians, policy makers, practitioners, the public – respond?
The Future of Services to the Public project is a bold, exciting attempt by nine partner organisations, including CIPFA, to get to grips with these issues. We are using scenario planning techniques to lift our sights and to help engage our thinking about the long term.
Our conference on 14 May is a very important part of the project. Some very interesting initial work has already been undertaken in a series of themed workshops. The conference provides an opportunity to share, test and challenge this early analysis with expert speakers and a rich, diverse audience of practitioners and interested parties.
Speakers include:
- Polly Toynbee, The Guardian
- Prof Jean Hartley, Professor of Organisational Analysis, Warwick Business School
- Sir Michael Barber, Partner, McKinsey & Co
- Julia Unwin, Director, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
- Matthew Taylor, Chief Executive, Royal Society of Arts
- Gary Sturgess, Chief Executive, SERCO Institute
- Clare Tickell, Chief Executive NCH
Look out for further details in future CIPFA e-newsletters or email rikki.ellsmore@cipfa.org with your enquiry.
 Entry packs for the 2007 Public Servants of the Year Awards are now available - with an entry deadline of 12 April. Don’t miss your chance to gain national recognition by entering. This prestigious award scheme, run by Public Finance magazine in partnership with CIPFA, the Cabinet Office, and Ipsos MORI covers both individual and team achievements. The awards acknowledge the dedication and commitment of public servants from across the spectrum of our public services, at all levels, including those involved in non-executive positions e.g. board member, councillor, trustee, governor.
If you would like to enter or know of an individual or team who deserves to be entered, contact Juliet Hutchings, for further information and an entry pack, at juliet.hutchings@cipfa.org or on 020 7543 5872.
Entries can also be made online at www.publicservants.org.uk
The judging of the Public Servant of the Year Award entries is a two-stage procedure and we are now looking for volunteers to help with the first of those stages, the scrutineering of entries. Volunteers need to be professionals with public sector experience able to give up to a few hours of their free time for this. They will be sent around twelve entries which will consist of:
- a written statement not exceeding 1500 words of the candidate’s achievements
- any other documents sent with the entry which relate to these achievements
Scrutineers will be asked to assess and mark entries for various criteria during May of this year.
If you are interested in joining us as a scrutineer please contact Margot Gallie at margot.gallie@cipfa.org
or on 020 7543 5675. |
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Entries are invited for the Sir Harry Page Memorial Award which is presented annually for an outstanding piece of work or initiative focused on a particular technical matter within the field of public service accounting and financial management.
For more details and an entry form, visit www.cipfa.org.uk/pt/page_award.cfm
Supported by CIPFA through the Local Government Policy Panel, the LGA and the IDeA, Financing Local Futures is a web-based resource designed to help those involved in local government decision-making to support and develop their own organisations' contributions to sustainable development.
The guide explores the opportunities available through existing financial mechanisms, policies and powers to encourage a sustainable future, and focuses on the role of local government finance professionals. Find out more at
www.sd-commission.org.uk/financinglocalfutures
This edition of the Charities Panel newsletter includes articles on Buying from the Third Sector – the Commissioning Joint Committee’s Guide and Fraud and how organisations can prepare themselves against it.
Read it at www.cipfa.org.uk/panels/charity |
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The RSLs (Registered Social Landlords) Panel response to the Cave Review of Social Housing regulation, which also benefited from input from colleagues on the CIPFA Housing Panel, can be found online at www.cipfa.org.uk/panels/RSL
The Department for Transport and HM Treasury have jointly commissioned CIPFA to undertake a review of the accounting, management and finance mechanisms for local authority transport infrastructure assets.
For further details of the review, please visit www.cipfa.org.uk/pt/infrastructure
The current edition of the IT Panel newsletter, produced together with the Performance and Improvement network (PIN), is now available. It includes coverage of the Government strategy ‘Transformational Government’ which was launched last year to jump start the shared service agenda and will be of relevance to many organizations in the public sector.
Read it online at www.cipfa.org.uk/panels/it.
More information on PIN is available at www.cipfanetworks.net/pin. |
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 Four former CETC students have scooped seven of the nine CIPFA prizes awarded for best performance in the Final Test of Professional Competence Level exams in 2006. The CETC prize-winning students are:
- Adrian Griffiths, Herefordshire Primary Care Trust, studied at CETC Midlands
- Ian Young, Audit Commission, studied at CETC South East
- Neil Sartorio, Deloitte MCS Ltd, studied at CETC South East
- Phillip Trotter, PricewaterhouseCoopers, studied at CETC South East
“We’ve had a fantastic start to the year with a solid set of pass rates for all centres, which again exceed the CIPFA average often by a substantial margin. And now we have the icing on the cake with the news that our students have scooped so many of the CIPFA national prizes. I just want to congratulate all these students on behalf of everyone at CETC.”
Gary Gilbert, Head of CETC
Risk Management Seminar - 27 April 2007 Edinburgh
Partnerships, smarter procurement and shared services are all activities which Transforming Public Services: The Next Phase of Reform encourages. This seminar will discuss the risks associated with such an ambitious reform agenda and will look more broadly at business continuity.
Accounting Standards Overview - 25 & 26 April 2007 Edinburgh
This comprehensive two day course is designed to provide an overview of all the accounting standards that affect the public sector.
Essentials of Governance - 26 April 2007 Edinburgh
This two day training course offers participants the opportunity to consider the foundations of good governance and determine practical steps to achieve good governance in their own organisations.
For the full Training & Events programme for Spring/Summer 2007 go to www.cipfa.org.uk/scotland/events.cfm.
5 April 2007, The Mount Conference Centre, Belfast
The Government has recently undertaken a review of public expenditure to reflect its current priorities and value for money agenda. In this session, Richard Pengelly from the Government’s Department of Finance and Personnel outlines the national spending framework as a backcloth for Northern Ireland public expenditure priorities. For details and to book visit www.cipfa.org.uk/ni/events.cfm.
18 April 2007, Hilton Hotel, Templepatrick
The first Better Governance and Counter Fraud seminar of 2007 has attracted high calibre speakers which reflects the important changes taking place in government structures in Northern Ireland and the implications of the Fraud Act 2006. For details and to book visit www.cipfa.org.uk/ni/seminars.cfm.
April 2007 - June 2007
This programme will equip participants with the practical skills and ability to deliver projects on time and to budget through the use of the PRINCE2 methodology. This very popular programme will begin on 26 April with Essentials of Project Management. Download the NI Project Management Brochure.
Conducting Verification Visits - 5 April 2007, Belfast *Extra Date*
Developing Robust Controls - 18 April 2007, Belfast
Introduction to Central Government Finance - 24 April 2007, Belfast
Fraud Investigation in the Public Sector - 26 & 27 April 2007, Belfast
Essentials of Project Management - 26 & 27 April 2007, Belfast
How to … Communicate Effectively - 30 April 2007, Belfast *NEW*
 There have been a number of additions to the Improvement Tools resource. Local authority managers and practitioners can now access new information on the themes of: Change Management, Communication, Performance Management, Personal Performance, Project Management, Recruitment and Induction, and Work-Life Balance:
www.improvementnetwork.gov.uk/imp/core/page.do?pageId=1900000006
CIPFA members can also access these tools directly from the CIPFA Learning Centre where they are positioned as the Management and Leadership resources.
Why not encourage your employer to apply for accreditation? Benefits include receiving support from both your employer and CIPFA but only having to complete one set of forms for both schemes.
Visit the CIPFA Learning Centre and go to Employer Schemes in Ask About CPD.
Healthcare Alliances, a management consultancy and training practice focused on the NHS and Social Care, have been awarded CIPFA accreditation for their 9-day Performance Management Programme. This is a bespoke development programme delivered by Healthcare Alliances for senior managers in health and social care. The aims are to
- improve service delivery; and
- enhance the personal performance of delegates.
For more details contact Terry Dennis (01446 774864/tdennis@healthcarealliances.co.uk) or visit
www.healthcarealliances.co.uk
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Delivering good value for money is more important than ever. The concept looks simple enough but it can be a challenge to achieve it in the complex setting of a local authority.
IPF offers a range of effective approaches to help local authorities develop and embed VfM. To find out more visit www.cipfastats.net.
The Waltham Forest Building Consultancy Service faced a declining workload with the formation of an ALMO with framework contracts for professional services and decided to establish a Joint Venture Company (JVC) with another Local Authority.
"We brought IPF in to assist us on a highly contentious project that had major financial and human resource issues for the Council...IPF provided expert support to the decision makers and acted as a critical friend, making the final outcome robust."
Martin Esom, Executive Director Environment.
The Joint Venture was successfully established on 1st March 2007.
CIPFA Network's new Performance Improvement Network have launched regular blogs covering key areas of interest. Brendan McCarron writes on Performance, Paul Jackson on Technology and Mohamed Hans on Procurement.
You do not need a subscription to access them, just go to www.cipfanetworks.net/pin and hit the "blogs" button on the menu.
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The CIPFA Performance Improvement Network held a very successful launch event in London on 22 February, attended by around 100 practitioners from local government.
A range of excellent speakers discussed how organisations had delivered real improvements in various ways and highlighted some of the key challenges facing local authorities.
Further details are available at www.cipfanetworks.net/pin
The CIPFA Training and Development Forum for service managers (TDF-SM) was launched in the summer of last year. The forum is designed to support service managers in meeting their responsibilities for delivering effective financial management alongside their service delivery role.
To find out more about the forum, have a look at www.cipfanetworks.net/training/tdfsm/about
Visit www.cipfanetworks.net/fan/events to find out about the CIPFA FAN Network 2007-08 programme of events and briefings for subscribers and other interested parties.
Re-subscription is on the 1st of April 2007 and subscribers will be entitled to use their free places within the FAN service areas. As you will see, it is an action packed programme of huge relevance to the local government finance practitioner.
Contact roman.haluszczak@ipf.co.uk or visit www.cipfanetworks.net/fan/events to find out what the CIPFA FAN could be delivering for you. |
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Good Governance for Public Services
- 3 April, London; 5 April, York; 23 April, Bristol; 30 April, Chester
Costing in the NHS-
19 April 2007, London
Service Line Reporting (SLR) and the Link with Patient Level Costing (PLC)
- 25 April, London
How to Manage your Performance and Productivity - 17 April, London; 25 April, Dunblane; 1 May, York; 10 May, Birmingham
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CIPFA Pensions Conference: Latest developments in Accounting and Auditing in Public Sector Pensions - 17th April 2007, London more
Introduction to Police Finance - 18th April 2007, London more
An Introduction to Social Care Finance - 20th April 2007, London more
The CIPFA 2007 Audit Conference - 25 April 2007, Newcastle more
State Aid Rules and Regulations -
25 April 2007, Cardiff more
Managing Small Projects -
25 April 2007, Cardiff more
Conducting Verification Visits -
8 May 2007, Cardiff more
Best Practice in Audit Committees -
9 May 2007, Cardiff more
On Board -
15 May 2007, London more |
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Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting in the United Kingdom: A Statement of Recommended Practice - Guidance Notes for Practitioners - 2006/2007 Accounts (2007) more
Best Value Accounting Code of Practice 2006 (2006) more
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On 18 April the Chief Executive will address the CIPFA in the Midlands Southern area on the 'Accountant's Role in Quality Improvement, Value for Money & Efficiency' in Bristol.
The Chief Executive will address the Society of County Treasurers' Spring Seminar on 'The View from the Institute' on 19 April at Warwick University.
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President - Caroline Gardner
Vice-President - John Butler
Chief Executive - Steve Freer |
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The CIPFA group has a number of training
and conference rooms which are available for hire
in various convenient locations:
CIPFA, Robert Street (WC2N).
Charing Cross/Embankment stations. For further
information, visit www.cipfa.org.uk/conference_ centre
CIPFA in Scotland, 496 Ferry
Road, Edinburgh, EH5 2DL. Meeting room for max
8 people. Contact cipfa.scotland@cipfa.org.
CIPFA Northern Ireland, 22 East
Bridge Street, Belfast, BT1 3NR. Contact kathryn.sloan@cipfa.org for details.
CETC, Borough High Street (SE1).
Borough station. Contact marilyn.clarke@cetc.org.uk for details.
CETC, 154 Great Charles Street, Birmingham
(B3). New Street Station. Contact marilyn.clarke@cetc.org.uk for details.
IPF, Queen Anne's Gate (SW1H).
St James Park station. Contact Conf.Centre@ipf.co.uk for details.
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Dear Colleague,
