Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy




 

The Technical Enquiry Service (TES) provides CIPFA members and registered students specialist technical guidance and advice relating to accounting and auditing standards, CIPFA's standards of professional practice, statements of best practice including the Local Authority SORP, IFRS-based Code and BVACOP and other pronouncements, ethical concerns and the legal restrictions on CIPFA members in practice.

For qualified CIPFA members and registered students, the TES desk is staffed between 09:00 and 17:00 and may be contacted by phone on 020 7543 5888, (a 24-hour answerphone service is provided) or by fax on 020 7543 5700. Alternatively queries may be emailed to technical.enquiry@cipfa.org.uk. Please have your membership or student number available when you contact TES.

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, more complex queries 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.

Before you contact the TES, or if you are not a CIPFA member, please check the following sources of information for an answer:

Ethics Advisory Panel
The TES also has links to a small list of members who are willing to discuss ethical issues with other members. This is a confidential service and is separate from the Institute. Any 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 scope 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.

CIPFA's Panels
CIPFA has a number of functional and sectoral panels which are responsible 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 qualified 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.