Courses

There’s pressure on you to both account for your activities accurately and in line with appropriate guidance; but also to justify that you’ve delivered services in a way that represents good use of public money. To do this, you need to understand the context the public sector operates in, be able to interpret and implement IPSAS (International Public Sector Accounting Standards), and have a framework to assess and measure whether services are delivered economically, efficiently and effectively. This two day programme gives you all the above in a way that is easy to take back into the workplace.

Managing the various aspects of public sector finance is increasingly challenging. Not only are you required to account for your activities in accordance with international public sector accounting standards, but increasingly there are challenges with managing budgets, procuring services externally and ensuring it all represents good value for tax payers. Our 9 day bootcamp will give you all the skills and knowledge you require to meet all these challenges and provide you with models and best practice to take back to the workplace in subjects including accounting, planning and budgeting, contract management, investment appraisal as well as helping you understand how to work effectively with internal auditors.

The challenge of planning the delivery of services in the public sector increases with both the reduction in allocation of resources, and the ever increasing demands to deliver better value for money. You therefore need to have a robust but flexible planning process to ensure you can deliver your objectives to time, budget and quality standards. You also need to link that planning process through to the setting and management of budgets. This one day programme gives you models for planning and budgeting together with practical hints about what to take back into the workplace.

Public sector organisations are facing more and more challenges in the breadth of risks they face. This includes political, operational, financial and reputational risks to name a few. They are also required to subject themselves to scrutiny through a variety of processes including internal audit. This two day programme gives delegates a methodology for managing risks as well as training them in best practice of implementing an effective purchase to pay system. This helps to prevent payments being made to suppliers without matching those payments to invoices and correctly raised purchase orders. It also allows some of the key issues concerning asset management to be discussed to promote optimal use of the organisation’s asset base. This programmme gives delegates models, practical hints and UK best practice to take back into the workplace.

Working with the private sector can be a very useful way to help us achieve our project outcomes and to deliver great services using their expertise. However, unless we produce a great business case to justify the investment, unless we have an effective procurement process to get the right service at the right price from the right supplier, and unless we manage how the supplier performs we will fail. This programme takes you through UK best practice in the 3 key areas of procurement, business cases and contract management, informing you of the rules and guidance you must be aware of but also the traps that you can fall into, if care is not exercised at each stage of the process. This three-day programme gives you all you need to know in a way that is easy to take back into the workplace.

Public sector finance professionals are no longer just tasked with producing reports and data. They now play a vital role in helping Service Heads and other senior staff to make better business decisions. This means they need technical finance skills such as investment appraisal and resource prioritisation; but they also need to be able to communicate the conclusions of that work so that Service Heads understand all the implications and therefore the right decisions are taken. In this context, effective communication is just as important as the robustness of the analysis. This one day programme gives you models and know how to help you communicate effectively back in the workplace.

A 4-day course, which service line managers in the public sector will find invaluable, for developing core competencies in financial management. Topics include; preparation and management of budgets, understanding service line financial reports, key responsibilities for operating financial control, maximizing value for money.

This two-day course provides an introduction to, and overview of, sustainability reporting in the public sector.

This two-day course provides an introduction to, and overview of, integrated reporting in the public sector.

This interactive, one-day programme examines the skills you need to influence the bottom line; not just report it. We look at the role of the finance professional in setting strategy and business plans and how you need more than just financial statements and accounting systems to make informed business decisions.

Do you support your business to set strategy and business plans? Do you keep the business on track to deliver those plans? This two-day workshop takes you through a practical approach to building strategy; developing metrics; and a performance management system to keep your business team on track to deliver.

There’s never been more pressure on you to deliver efficiently and effectively. You need to have control of costs, prioritise the right things and need flexibility to change tactics. We go beyond budgeting to more agile ways of managing and look at how to take costs out of your organisation.