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Public Sector Financial Management

Read the latest insights on improving financial management in the public sector, including key findings from the UK National Audit Office, Audit Wales and public auditors around the world. Delve into the issues with ICAEW’s Better Government Series of policy insights that looks at how to improve financial management in the public sector and how to build strong finance leadership to ensure public money is spent wisely on behalf of citizens.
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Local government finance

Skills for the future

  • Hub page
  • 25 Oct 2024
Improving financial skills is critical in balancing the books and delivering value for citizens. As backstop dates for audited accounts come into force, ICAEW explores how local authorities can strengthen their approach to financial management.
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Insights

Technical round-up: November 2024
  • Article
  • 28 Nov 2024
This month’s top stories feature Budget measures you may have missed; a deadline extension for providing agent codes; and data that suggests improvement on HMRC call handling.
Companies House reform: ID verification and its impact on accountants
  • Article
  • 26 Nov 2024
Mike Miller, ICAEW’s Economic Crime Manager, outlines the major changes and intended timeline of implementation for Companies House identity verification.
How risk management should work in local government
  • Article
  • 19 Nov 2024
Local authority finance teams must embed risk management in decision-making processes and financial planning, as well as create a risk-aware culture across the organisation.
‘Cultural shift’ needed across government, NAO warns
  • Article
  • 12 Nov 2024
Focus must be placed on securing long-term value for money if the government is to use the planning and spending framework to improve productivity and efficiency, public spending watchdog says.
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Skills for the future

Improving financial skills is critical in balancing the books and delivering value for citizens. As backstop dates for audited accounts come into force, ICAEW explores how local authorities can strengthen their approach to financial management.

Strengthening financial expertise across local government
  • Article
  • 25 Oct 2024
Marking the launch of a series of best practice case studies, Alison Ring OBE FCA CPFA, ICAEW Director of Public Sector & Taxation, shares the vital role that finance teams play in local government.
How successful finance business partners work at local authorities
  • Article
  • 25 Oct 2024
Finance business partners play a vital bridging role between the finance team and the wider organisation.
How to ensure colleagues understand financial information
  • Article
  • 27 Nov 2024
With local government budgets under pressure and more councils adopting commercialisation strategies, key stakeholders must have a strong grasp of financial information to aid sound decision-making.
How to prepare for an external audit in local government
  • Article
  • 25 Oct 2024
The mounting backlog in the publication of audited council accounts has shone the spotlight on external audit processes in local government.
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Highlights

New committee needed says PAC
  • Article
  • 24 Apr 2024
New committee needed to scrutinise sensitive government expenditure, says PAC
“Smarter government” could secure billions in savings
  • Article
  • 22 Jan 2024
The National Audit Office chief highlights areas of opportunity for government, but warns savings could only come from more innovation, better data and tighter governance.
Councils risk making decisions based on inaccurate information, warns Audit Wales chief
  • Article
  • 01 Aug 2024
The Auditor General for Wales is “concerned” as councils found to provide limited information to help senior leaders understand service users’ views and outcomes.
Six ways to improve efficiency in public sector buying
  • Article
  • 24 Jul 2024
Matthew Rees, a director at the National Audit Office (NAO) with responsibility for procurement, sets out six key recommendations from his report on efficiency in government procurement of common goods and services.
Demystifying the role of NEDs in the public sector
  • Article
  • 21 May 2024
Chartered accountants possess many of the skills required to be an effective NED in the public sector. We explain what the role entails, how interested members can find vacancies and why they are so desperately needed.
National level structural barriers impact local authorities, report says
  • Article
  • 09 May 2024
DLUHC’s assessment finds that local and national systems for delivering public services are not currently designed to facilitate joined up working across government.

Reports and analysis

ICAEW responds to Fabian Society pamphlet: ‘Prizing the Public Pound’
  • Article
  • 10 Aug 2021
ICAEW engages with the Fabian Society and their pamphlet ‘Prizing the Public Pound’ on local audit and spending effectiveness in central government, in which they call for a future Labour government to reorganise, revitalise and expand public audit in England.
Managing the public balance sheet
  • Article
  • 16 Nov 2017
An ICAEW policy insight aimed at helping governments and parliaments understand how good balance sheet management can improve the overall management of the public finances.
Public money for the public good
  • Article
  • 05 Jun 2018
The role of professional accountants is fundamentally about creating trust. Trust that numbers are correctly stated and that a true and fair account has been produced, showing what money has been raised and how that money has been used.
The debt of nations
  • Report
  • 17 Apr 2018
A decade after the corporate debt crisis, public debt is at an all-time high and continues to rise. The potential for a global public debt crisis should not be ignored. ICAEW shares policy insight.
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Resources by Topic

Public Sector Audit and Assurance

Improving the quality of public audit. Becoming a registered local auditor. Assurance for grant-paying bodies

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Public Sector Finances

Insights and analysis on the UK public finances, including the #icaewchartoftheweek.

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Public Sector Financial Management

Our Better Government Series of policy insights looks at how to improve finance leadership and financial management in the public sector.

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Public Sector Financial Reporting

Developments in International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) affecting the public sector.

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Europe and International

Exploring public sector finances and financial management across the globe.

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Books seen from above
Learning and Development

How we can help professionals, in the public sector and beyond, develop their skills and advance their careers.

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Further resources

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Public Sector webinars and recordings

Specialist resources and events for the public sector

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Public Sector Community

Free to join and open to non-ICAEW members

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Public Sector Community Newsletters

Latest news from the Public Sector Community

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