Gasette This issue - Government Finance Profession - HM Treasury

ACCA seminarTalking shop: Richard Douglaswith ACCA Chief ExecutiveHelen Brand, centre, andHelen Ripley, BusinessDevelopment Manager– Public SectorWelcome to the‘golden age’Gasette caught up with the GFP’s boss Richard Douglas when hedelivered a presentation to accountants at ACCA’s Lincoln’s Inn HQPUBLIC SECTOR ACCOUNTANTS areentering “a golden age”, according toHead of the GFP Richard Douglas.Speaking to the ACCA Public SectorNetwork, Douglas outlined his vision forthe role of finance in central government– one that puts the accountant at theheart of the decision-making process. “Iwant to move finance from thebackroom to the boardroom,” he said,adding: “We have to, to deal with thescale of the challenges facing finance.”Of these, Douglas said the toughestfacing finance professionals (FPs) was thecurrent restraint that was likely to go onbeyond the current Spending Review andinto 2016. This meant FPs had to getmore out of fewer resources in order tomaintain service levels and meet withusers’ expectations. “There is a realreduction in discretionary spend and I forone didn’t come into public service tomake cuts,” he said.So how can FPs better use resources?“We need to understand what drivescosts,” said Douglas. “And we need toset out the priorities for investment.” Butwhile it was good to have a vision, it was,Douglas conceded, sometimes difficult tomake this a reality.He described four ‘pillars’ that financecan use as a platform to get to the heartof government. “Excellent leadership isvital,” said Douglas. “People at all levelsneed to be financially literate. We needto develop a cost-conscious culture –again, at all levels, right through thesystem. At the moment this is not therein Whitehall. We also need excellent,efficient, professional finance functions. Itis critically important FPs lead from thefront. As individuals FPs must develop therequired skills.”Douglas described the fourth ‘pillar’ asthe need for expert central functions.“What happens in the Cabinet Officeand in the Treasury has a fundamentalimpact on us,” he said.So how will these four objectives bereached? “The Finance TransformationProgramme will do this,” stressedDouglas. Priority areas include spendingframework rules that do not incentivisegood financial management. “We needto challenge these rules,” said Douglas.Another area of focus is the ‘talentmanagement’ of finance professionals,said Douglas. “We are not creating ourown pool of talent. A percentage of FPsmust be ‘home-grown’,” he said. “We’vegot to get the best out of our FPs.”Douglas also identified animprovement of the finance skills of nonfinance professionals as a target area.“It’s important everyone has the rightskills – we need finance to be at theheart of what everyone does.”Each department should draw up theirown list of priorities, said Douglas, andthrough this shared services best practicecould be developed. “At the moment,we just don’t do this,” said Douglas.Douglas, who combines his role asHead of the GFP with his ‘day job’ asDirector-General Policy, Strategy andFinance at the Department of Health,also outlined the skills FPs need todevelop. “There needs to be afundamental shift in technical andprofessional skills,” he said. “Influencingskills are vital to put finance at the toptable,” he ventured. “Communicationskills are too – we are not good at this. Interms of knowledge it is important thatyou understand your own business. Thismeans getting out and about within yourorganisation. Extending this further, youneed knowledge of the way otherpeople’s businesses work – both withinand outside government.” In terms ofpersonal qualities, FPs need to be resilientand credible, consistent and reliable. “FPsmust be innovative too,” said Douglas.“We can’t just carry on doing the samestuff we’ve always done.“But this is a fantastic time to be an FPin government,” he said. “It is a fantastictime to be an accountant. We areentering a golden age.”HELEN BRAND:ACCOUNTANTS ADD VALUEHelen Brand, CEO at the ACCA, commented: “Richard communicated very clear messages,and ones that ACCA would agree with: that it is vital to put finance at the heart of thedecision making process in government, as in any business . My lasting impression fromthe event was the implicit message that accountants can add the most value by rising tothe current challenge by leading from the front. Again, this is a message consistent withACCA's own belief that the finance function is no longer just about numbers but alsoabout strategic leadership. The scale of the challenges are unprecedented, but present thegreatest opportunities to our members. I welcome Richard's offer to return to ACCA toreview how they were tackled and to update us all on progress.”16 theGASETTEspring 2012