Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy




 

Technical Enquiry Service

Technical FAQs
Financial Regulations
CIPFA's Panels
Disclaimer

CIPFA provides a Technical Enquiry Service (TES) to qualified members and registered students of CIPFA and graduates of the CIPFA Advanced Diploma. The TES provides information, guidance and advice on professional issues.

The TES provides:

The TES desk is staffed between 9.00 am and 5.00 pm and may be contacted by phone on 020 7543 5888, (a 24 hour answer phone service is provided) or by fax on 020 7543 5700. Alternatively you may email your enquiry to technical.enquiry@cipfa.org.uk or submit via the Membership Secure Area at the CIPFA Learning Centre.

CIPFA members in Scotland and Northern Ireland have, in addition, access to technical enquiry assistance provided by CIPFA in Scotland (0131 551 2100) and CIPFA in Northern Ireland (02890 266 770).

We aim to answer 70% of queries within three working days; however, if the enquiry needs to be referred to a volunteer, it may take longer. Please note the TES cannot answer queries involving the provision of a legal view or which are the subject of discussion with the external auditor.

Ethics Advisory Panel

The helpdesk also has a small list of members who are willing to discuss ethical issues with members. This is a confidential service and is separate from the Institute. The advice, which may be offered by the panel, is not considered to be official CIPFA advice and it is not intended that this advice should have any legal status.

For a query to fall within the ambit of the Ethics Advisory Panel it should be in respect of an ethical issue concerning a member's professional conduct in relation to the Standard of Professional Practice on Ethics.

Technical FAQs

A proportion of the queries received by the Technical Enquiry Service can be resolved by reference to model responses. It may be worth referring to this section before contacting us if your question is likely to be topical. The questions cover accounting issues relating to local government in England and Wales. There is a separate set of questions relating specifically to Scotland at the CIPFA in Scotland site.

Financial Regulations: A Good Practice Guide for an English Modern Council

To conduct its business efficiently, a local authority needs to ensure that it has sound financial management policies in place and that they are strictly adhered to. Part of this process is the establishment of financial regulations that set out the financial policies of the authority. CIPFA has produced this guide to financial regulations to assist any ‘modern’ council. The guide is now available on disk only. The guide is not intended to be prescriptive and this format will enable authorities to modify it to their own requirements. For more details please visit the online CIPFA Shop

CIPFA's Panels

CIPFA has a number of functional and sectoral panels which are reponsible for the Institute's policy and technical work. These panels are generally made up of volunteers who have a particular interest and expertise in the area of work concerned. They are constituted in such a way that the members as a whole are representative of the sector(s) covered by the panel and of the interests concerned. Members of staff in the Policy and Technical Directorate provide secretarial and technical support.

Accounting and Auditing Standards Panel
Audit Panel
Central Government Panel
Charities Panel
Children's Services Panel
Corporate Governance Panel
Financial Management Panel
Further and Higher Education Panel
Health Panel
IT Panel
Local Authority Accounting Panel
Local Authority Housing Panel
Local Government Policy Panel
Pensions Panel
Police Panel
RSLs Panel
Role of the Public Services Director of Finance Panel
Social Care Panel
Treasury Management Panel

DISCLAIMER
The Technical Enquiry Service offers members and registered students a service providing information, guidance and advice on professional issues. Please note that the advice offered by the Technical Enquiry Service should not be taken as an authoritative interpretation of the law, and should not be considered as constituting a definition of proper accounting practice. Answers offered are based solely on the information provided to the Technical Enquiry Service. All reasonable care is exercised in preparing responses to questions. However enquirers should always refer to the primary sources before relying on this advice, and check any interpretation of published guidance with their own professional advisors.