News<strong>Finance</strong> inthe front lineThe GFP is “in full view and on thefront line” in the battle to cut thedeficit, Economic Secretary to the<strong>Treasury</strong> Chloe Smith MP told morethan 200 senior financeprofessionals at the CIPFA WorldClass Performance Symposium.Smith told delegates that anumber of workstreams had beenset up to bring together membersof the <strong>Finance</strong> Leadership Group,Director-Generals of <strong>Finance</strong> fromthe largest-spending departments,and representatives from the<strong>Treasury</strong> and Cabinet Office. Theywill focus on:• <strong>Treasury</strong> spending controls andEmergingstrongerCIPFA has launched EmergingStronger: Shaping the financefunction to meet new and futurechallenges. The paper emphasisesthat top performing organisationsrequire top performing financefunctions, identifying four key areasin which finance must contributestrongly: leading innovation, addingvalue, managing risk and cuttingcosts. <strong>This</strong> in turn focuses thinkingon four critical roles: innovator,A risky businessAccounting is about providinginformation to help makegood decisions, and gooddecisions mean less risk,according to the ACCA’s PaulMoxey. The accountant’s dayto-dayrole is about managingdeveloping incentives for goodfinancial management.• The development of costconsciouscultures in departments.• Shared services.• Management information.• <strong>Finance</strong> skills for non-financeprofessionals.• Developing our financeprofessionals.“These are workstreams that arebeing driven by seniormanagement right acrossWhitehall, committed to instillingstronger financial management,”the minister said.• For more see pages 8-9.CIPFA CEOSteve Freerbusiness partner, steward, andprovider/commissioner. The paperargues that through these coreroles the finance function has theopportunity to showcase itsimportance in taking theorganisation forward and toemerge stronger post austerity.• For more see page 10.risk, he said, even if they don’trecognise it. Moxey stressedthat risk happens at all levelsof the business and it doesn’tsit in silos. He stressed: “Riskmanagement needs to besomething undertaken byeveryone in an organisationso it is fully integrated.”‘Golden age’for accountants<strong>Government</strong> accountants are entering a “golden age”, accordingto Head of the <strong>Profession</strong> Richard Douglas. “I want to see theaccountant at the heart of the decision-making process,” he said.“I want to move finance from the backroom to the boardroom.We have to, to deal with the scale of the challenges facingfinance.” For more see page 16.<strong>This</strong> year it could be you!Don’t get caught out – we areasking for nominations for the GFPAwards 2012 early this year! Thefull list of categories and rules ofentry will all be posted onlineat www.thegfptreasury.org,just afterthe Easter holidays. Lastyear we had winnersamong others fromDWP, MoD, <strong>HM</strong>RC andthe <strong>Treasury</strong> itself. But therewere also winners from theDepartment for Rural Affairs, DfE,the Department for Communitiesand Local <strong>Government</strong>, The CourtsService, and the EnvironmentAgency. The awards then are opento all departments, agencyand arm’s length bodies,so isn’t it time you oryour department wasrecognised for all yourhard work?All we need is 250words explaining why the‘nominee’ should win a GFPaward.THE GFP PRESENTS...The 30TH ANNIVERSARY TRAININGEVENTBACK TO THE BRIGHTON METROPOLE7th and 8th NOVEMBER 201204 theGASETTE spring 2012
Fraud & error in the public sectorKeeping one step aheadEvery year £21 billion is lost to the public sector throughfraud and error. What steps are your organisation takingto tackle the problem?What role does technical expertise play in the detection and prevention offraud & error?Forensic and analytic tools bring information to life. They reveal distinct fraud and errortypologies and their prevalence in current operations. Deloitte’s depth of technicalexpertise allows us to offer both packaged tools and custom built technical offerings.Is technical expertise enough?Absolutely not. Our client research shows that, when tackling fraud and error,organisations’ culture and willingness to share information is equally as important asthe technical capabilities. Deloitte’s wealth of experience in cultural change managementcan help ensure your workforce is appropriately equipped.Michael CullenDeloitte PartnerFraud & ErrorContactsDeloitte is helping a number of clients keep one step ahead. Find out moreby contacting:Michael Cullenmcullen@deloitte.co.ukMartin Simpsonmarsimpson@deloitte.co.ukFind out more at www.deloitte.co.uk/gps/one-step-ahead© 2012 Deloitte LLP. All rights reserved.Member of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited