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CIPFA's President, Mike Barnes, has been touring the country
to explain the progress of the Institute’s consolidation
talks with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
(CIMA) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England
and Wales (ICAEW). The aim has also been to give members and
students an opportunity to feed back their initial views on
the emerging proposals. Helpfully, those unable to attend
the regional events can now exchange views with fellow members
via a dedicated discussion forum on CIPFA’s website
at http://www.cipfa.org.uk/consolidation/forum.cfm.
Developed and supported jointly by the Audit Commission,
CIPFA, the Employers' Organisation and the IDeA, the new Improvement
Network website exists to help people improve their local
public services. Chiefly aimed at senior and middle managers
in councils in England, the website provides a powerful platform
for planning improvements, practical problem solving tools,
real life examples of services that have been improved and
signposts to useful information and data.
To find out more go to http://www.improvementnetwork.gov.uk.
In association with the Standards Board and ACSeS, our colleagues
at SOLACE will be holding their first Monitoring Officers'
event in London on 15 March 2005. This one-day conference
will look at the role of the monitoring officers and the relationship
between this post and the other statutory officers, as well
as the member
interface. Further details will be available shortly. Please
register your interest by emailing sue.rawlins@solace.org.uk.
The response to our call for nominations for the 2005 Public
Servants of the Year Awards has been overwhelming: we are
still counting the entries and are on target for a record
number.
Supported by the Cabinet Office, the Office of Government
Commerce and CIPFA, these awards seek to recognise the achievements
of individuals and teams working across the whole of the public
services.
The work of marking and judging the entries is under way
and the finalists will be announced in March.
Thank you and good luck to everyone who has sent in a nomination.
Your efforts are inspiring and we look forward to celebrating
them at the awards ceremony on 21 April 2005.
Tickets to the ceremony are obtainable from helen.mcdonnell@cipfa.org.
http://www.publicservants.org.uk
CIPFA and PricewaterhouseCoopers have joined forces to promote
the fourth year of the Public Reporting and Accountability
Awards scheme. Its aim is 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.
The Public Reporting and Accountability Awards are supported
by HM Treasury, the National Audit Office, the Audit Commission,
Audit Scotland, the Northern Ireland Audit Office and a range
of well known organisations including the Centre for Public
Scrutiny, the Department of Health, the National Housing Federation,
the NHS Confederation, SOLACE and Universities UK. For more
information and to enter online please email helen.mcdonnell@cipfa.org
or visit the awards website: http://www.cipfa.org.uk/accountability.
In addition to the 2 events arranged in England, a local
authority technical update event is being arranged for 14
December 2004. This event will cover the latest SORP and BVACOP
developments, group accounts, FRS 17 and the latest developments
relating to the Accounting Standards Board. A detailed programme
and booking instructions will shortly be available via the
CIPFA in Wales website. For further details please contact
wales@cipfa.org.
Coleg Harlech Workers' Educational Association (North Wales)
is a registered charity providing adult education in a residential
college in Harlech, and throughout North and Mid Wales in
local communities. Much of its work is with adults who have
been disadvantaged by their previous education, employment
or life experiences.
The charity is looking for members to sit on its Governing
Body and currently has vacancies for members with an accountancy
background to sit on both the Governing Body and the Audit
Committee and perhaps to Chair the Audit Committee. This would
require attending six meetings a year, usually in Harlech
or in Bangor, to advise and guide the Association.
Would you be interested in helping? If so, please contact
Annie O'Brien, Clerk to the Governing Body on 01766 781018
or annieobr@yahoo.co.uk.
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The CIPFA/LASAAC Joint Committee is inviting
comments on proposed changes to the local
authority SORP. The consultation sets out the Joint
Committee's proposals for amendments to the
current SORP to apply to accounting periods commencing
on or after 1 April 2005 and also consults on the broad
options for the capital
financing charge (notional interest). Comments
are invited by 31 January 2005.
http://www.cipfa.org.uk/pt/
pt_details_c.cfm?news_id=21727
Preparations are under way for a one day
CIPFA conference on Strategic Financial Planning and
Capital Investment on 15 December in London.
The morning will feature an intensive look at examples
drawn from local authorities that have used the new
prudential framework in innovative and creative ways.
The afternoon will feature expert
speakers on how capital investment decisions inter-relate
to strategic planning, asset management planning and
the legislative framework.
http://secure.cipfa.org.uk/cgi-bin/
CIPFA.storefront/EN/product/TS41&2D1
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Spectrum covers a wide range of public
service and allied subjects and sectors, providing more
technical information and analysis on topical and emerging
issues. The September issue is now available online:
http://www.cipfa.org.uk/pt/spectrum.cfm
The panel has identified a number of
important questions raised by the Government's recent
proposals to move schools' budgets to an
academic financial year. Read the response in full:
http://www.cipfa.org.uk/panels/
education/show.cfm?news_id=21813
Download CIPFA’s response to the ODPM consultation
paper 'Rent restructuring three year review':
http://www.cipfa.org/panels/
housing/responses_housing.cfm
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IPF Benchmarking are planning to launch
a new Benchmarking Club for Insurance in 2005. For each
Club that is launched, a Steering Committee of volunteers
is formed. There was an overwhelming response to the
request for volunteers from insurance professionals
within local authorities and the first meeting took
place in September. A pilot exercise is under development
and the Club will be launched in the New Year.
The CIPFA Technical Information Services
Local Taxation editorial board has produced guidance
on Business Improvement Districts (BIDs). The
guidance aims to provide a definitive synopsis of the
scheme, enabling local authorities and local businesses,
in partnership, to provide additional services or improvements
to a specified area.
http://www.tisonline.net/fis/
18.3_localtaxation/default.asp
In October 2004 the CIPFA Technical Information
Services series of Taxation titles was updated. Further
information is available at
http://www.tisonline.net
The DfES has contracted IPF to update and re-launch
the Financial Management Standards and Toolkit for Schools
for 2005. IPF developed the
original toolkit which was distributed to all schools
on CD-Rom. The update will include Web-based assessment
tools.
IPF is helping to implement an e-enabled performance management
framework in a number of pilot authorities and is working
in partnership with St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council
to provide management support to the pilots. They are
also developing a toolkit that addresses the essential
organisational and cultural issues that influence successful
outcomes.
IPF is part of a Consortium that has won a contract to
provide support and advice to the Auditor General of Sierra
Leone. They are also part of a consortium that has won
the contract for Improving Maternal
and Newborn Health through Strengthening Health Systems
in Pakistan.
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www.ipfprocurement.net
is a dynamic new website aimed at public sector procurement
practitioners, clients and partners. Integrated with
IPF Online Services, a single user registration provides
access to all service areas.
Risk – a four letter word or a
long sentence
http://www.ipf.co.uk/bestvalue/BVQ/
construction/Events/series304prog.htm
Implementing the Prudential Code
http://www.ipf.co.uk/bestvalue/BVQ/
FAN/Events/keylessons.htm
The first steps in planning for Children’s Services
http://www.ipf.co.uk/bestvalue/BVQ/
Education/Events/planningchildren.htm
Fresh PRINCE2 of Procurement - Essential Skills for
Successful Procurement Projects
http://www.ipf.co.uk/procurement/pac/
events/essentialskills.htm
Local Government Trading & Charging - Nottingham,
7 December and London, 21 January 2005
On-Board Training - 7 December, 15 February 2005 and
17 March 2005
IPF Training has developed a one day Technical Update
course for finance staff and a a half day module introducing
CIPFA's new Financial Management Model. Both courses
will earn finance staff a continued professional development
certificate.
Please email jason.cole@ipf.co.uk
for further information about training events.
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| Changes to Housing Benefit -
7 December, London More...
CIPFA Seminar The Local Government Finance Settlement
- 14 December, London
More...
Local Government Finance: Strategic
Financial Planning and Capital Investment - London,
15 December More...
Improving Financial Management in the NHS - 16
December, London
More...
NHS Procurement and Contract Management:
Preparing for Gershon - 25 January, London More...
Education Panel Finance Course: Every Child Matters
– Joining up Education, Health and Social
Services - 4 March, London More...
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| Standing Guide to the Commissioning
of Local Authority Work and Services – Version
2 More...
Systems Based Auditing: Control Matrices for Information
Technology More...
Local Government Internal Audit Manual (Fully
Revised Second Edition) More...
Group Accounts in Local Authorities: Practitioners'
Workbook (2004) More...
Best Value Accounting: Code of Practice 2004 -
More...
Guidance for Smaller Public Service
Organisations on the Application of the CIPFA
Code of Practice for Treasury Management in the
Public Services More...
Issues Raised by the Balance of Funding Review
and the Lyons Inquiry More...
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The Chief Executive
joined a panel of speakers at the HFMA Conference
to discuss 'Shaping the Future of the Public Services'
on 24 November
at the Hilton London Metropole Hotel.
The President attended the
Annual Dinner of the Institute of Chartered
Accountants in Ireland on 25 November in Dublin.
He will also be attending the ACCA Centenary
Dinner on 30 November in London and the Society
of County Treasurers Dinner on 2 December.
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If you are looking to hold a board
meeting or a week's training course, one of the
four committee rooms at CIPFA is sure to accommodate
your needs. There are flexible layouts for each
committee room to suit most occasions for a maximum
of forty people.
To view our rooms or discuss possible dates,
please email
conference.centre@cipfa.org. Information is
also available on the Conference
Centre web pages.
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