Agenda
Throughout the Conference you will be able to make use of:
- Match making networking and live delegate meet ups
- Replay functions so you never miss a session
- Live chat, questioning and polling tools
- Real time resources and presentations
- A next generation conference engagement platform
- Exploring the long-term challenges facing public sector funding and financial sustainability up to 2030
- Assessing the impact of Brexit on investment, decision making and growth and how the public sector may respond to these changes
- Evaluating the growing demand and costs connected with local government services and social care provision
- Examining changes to the local council funding system, including Fair Funding Review and Business Rates Retention
The Ministry of Housing, Local Government and Communities will examine the Final Local Government Finance Settlement for England, 2020 to 2021, which was released in February 2020, including the impact this will have upon local authorities. Furthermore, the session will also outline the reforms to the business rates retention system.
Use our Conference platform to pose your live questions to speakers, share your ideas with fellow delegates via our chat function.
- Outlining how the finance team utilised lessons learnt over the previous year as a method to streamlining their processes, resulting in them winning Finance Team of the Year at the Public Finance Awards 2019
- Examining the key transformations undertaken to improve efficiency, including becoming the first government department to recognise revenue from contracts with customers by adopting the new International Financial Reporting Standard 15 early
- Sharing guidance on how the transformation was embedded across all departments, not just the finance team and how to ensure staff buy-in from the whole organisation to ensure a smooth transition
Winner of Finance Team of the Year – Central Government and National Bodies, Public Finance Awards 2019
Councillor Matthew Golby will discuss Northamptonshire County Council’s two-year journey from being issued a Section 114 and the council’s overspend reaching £41 million, to predicting an underspend by £119k for 2019/20.
This session will also include the key lessons learnt throughout this journey and the methods utilised by the council to achieve their predicted underspend.
- Outlining how the finance academy work will staff to develop work programmes focusing on “Finance Adding Value”, through the four main pillars which include People, Innovation, Partnership and Excellence
- Highlighting how the academy works with NHS providers to attract young people into the finance sector through their Graduate Financial Management Trainee Scheme
- Sharing insights into how government departments can utilise their finance teams to support non-finance staff members, by providing training sessions for board members and financial governance training
Use our Conference platform to pose your live questions to speakers, share your ideas with fellow delegates via our chat function.
- Examining the upcoming changes to auditing, requiring auditors to issue commentary on financial sustainability, governance and improving economy, efficiency and effectiveness instead of delivering an overall binary conclusion
- Highlighting the benefits these changes to the Code of Practice will have, such as making reporting clearer on partnership working and allowing to comment on more local circumstances
- Analysing other consultation provisions, including allowing the auditor to make immediate recommendations, rather than wait until the end of the audit, and that when auditors are unable to publish their annual report by the deadline, they must publicly explain why
Izzi Seccombe OBE will be outlining how Warwickshire County Council effectively established a ‘Premier Supplier Service’ partnership with Oxygen Finance, which won the Solutions Partner award at the Public Finance Awards 2019.
The partnership created a payment solution which injected an estimated £2.7 million into the local economy, as well as £900,000 into frontline council services.
- Sharing experience and insights from local government authorities on the impact of COVID-19
- Exploring the challenges faced by central government when the insurance markets won’t deliver
- Demonstrating how the Government Actuary’s Department helps other public sector organisations manage their insurance risks
Use our Conference platform to pose your live questions to speakers, share your ideas with fellow delegates via our chat function.
- Outlining the role of the Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA), including how they support Government departments and organisations to tackle fraud and improve their counter-fraud response
- Examining how GIAA deliver a high quality, independent and cost-effective specialist counter fraud and investigation service for government departments
- Providing insights to the fraud risks GIAA is seeing across Government and considerations for strengthening your organisation’s counter-fraud response
- Evaluating the potential impact the local government finance settlement will have on local councils and delivering services, such as the council tax referenda
- Assessing the challenges for local government including the ongoing implications of the rising demands
- Outlining the LGA’s response to the Spending Review 2019 and the influence it has had on local government spending
- Exploring the future of local government finance, including how the LGA will support local governments moving forward
- Providing an update on implementing the Government Finance Function Strategy 2019-2023, including the next steps being taken to support departments in undertaking prosperous financial measures
- Examining the Government’s functional standards expected of departments and how financial leads can enhance capabilities
- Sharing guidance on how departments can effectively develop cultures around successful planning, risk assessment and assurance in the support of evidence-based financial decision making
- Highlighting examples of cross-collaboration to financial management across government and how these methods can be implemented as common practice
Use our Conference platform to pose your live questions to speakers, share your ideas with fellow delegates via our chat function.
*Programme Subject to Change