08 June 2007
The incoming CIPFA president intends to apply the same drive and determination to his institute role as he has to his career – and to his passion for orienteering
John Butler has an unusual ambition. CIPFA's incoming president hopes eventually to be the world orienteering champion in the '90 years and over' age category. And few would bet against him achieving this.
Butler has performed at the highest level of the sport, which combines cross-country running with a navigation test. At present he takes part in the 60-65 year age group and has competed throughout the world, including representing Wales in various international competitions.
'I am a very competitive person, but I don't really like running, especially on roads; it's so boring. However, I do like to win and that forces me to run,' he tells me over lunch at his home in Beverley, near Kingston upon Hull.
It's easy to see this as a metaphor for Butler's approach to his working life. Determined to succeed, he moved around regularly at the start of his career. Junior finance roles at district councils in Kent and Surrey in the 1960s led to his appointment as assistant borough treasurer at Greenwich council when still in his mid-20s. A number of tough assignments then followed.
He was chief finance officer at Lambeth council in the 1970s, when 'Red' Ted Knight and Ken Livingstone were councillors. He then became city treasurer and deputy chief executive at Swansea City Council from 1979 to 1995 – a time of huge political infighting.
Finally, he joined England's biggest unitary council, East Riding of Yorkshire, as its director of finance and IT. He went into semi-retirement in 2005 when he was the UK's longest-serving treasurer.
Looking back on his time in local government, Butler admits that he had his career mapped out from early on. 'Once I got involved and understood how the profession worked, I knew that I wanted to be the treasurer. I wanted to be in charge. I wanted to run things,' he says.
Asked to describe his traits, he immediately offers 'someone who knows where he's going' and a 'very organised individual'. His partner, Lynda, backs up this latter point by gleefully showing me a cupboard full of house keys, all individually labelled.
'I suppose I am a bit of a perfectionist,' he admits. 'My staff complained that I could not resist altering committee reports, but I pointed out that the readers judged the department on what they read and how it was presented.'
A widower, with two grown-up children from his marriage, Butler has lived in Beverley since he took up the job at East Riding. But he is clearly still an honorary Welshman. He owns a house in Swansea, is treasurer and former chair of the Welsh Orienteering Association and has been president of the Welsh Society of Kingston upon Hull.
'I spent 17 very happy years in Wales,' he says. 'Whilst I am happy living in Yorkshire, I do miss Wales and its people, which is probably one of the reasons why I joined the Welsh Society when I moved here.'
While at Swansea, Butler was widely recognised as the expert on Welsh local government finance. He was part of the team that regenerated the city, developing old industrial areas and revamping the docklands.
He was also principal financial adviser to the Council for Welsh Districts and served on the Welsh Consultative Council for Local Government Finance from 1983 to 1995.
Don Matthews, the former assistant city treasurer at Swansea, says Butler's arrival was a 'breath of fresh air'. He praises the Englishman's leadership skills and says he brought a renewed dynamism to the council.
'John wasn't what you'd call a “matey”, arms-round-the-shoulder type, down the pub with the boys, but equally he was always approachable, willing to participate and keen for us to be at the forefront of development.'
Matthews jokes that Butler's penchant for lunchtime runs in his Lycra shorts did not go down well with the more traditional elements at the council. Many of them expected the treasurer to be attired in a three-piece suit and to operate on a more formal basis.
Reorganisation of local government in Wales eventually led to Butler's return to England and the post at East Riding. Created in 1995, it covers 1,000 square miles, employs 17,000 staff, serves 320,000 residents and has an annual turnover in excess of £500m.
Butler joined East Riding before it came into being and helped merge five existing councils into a unitary authority. 'John had some dreadful things to do,' recalls the council's former chief executive, Darryl Stephenson. 'He had to shut down five sets of accounts while trying to run a new set and dealing with horrible old mainframe computers, none of which matched each other.
'But he settled into it well. Forming a budget when he didn't know what money he'd got and then cutting the budget because the government didn't give us the money they said they would. He grew into a real asset for us.'
Although he officially retired in 2005, Butler stayed on for a further six months as project director for a £150m public-private partnership. This involved the council transferring its IT, revenues, benefits, payroll and some administrative functions to German company Arvato Government Services.
Butler will take up the CIPFA presidency at the institute's annual conference next week. He intends to bring the same determination and enthusiasm to the role as he has to his previous jobs. 'Being semi-retired, I don't have the same commitments that many of my predecessors had trying to hold down a full-time job and being national president at the same time. I hope that I can give the role my almost undivided attention,' he says.
'I regard it as a huge bonus that I do have that free time. It means that I shall be able to get out and talk to members and students, especially in the regions.'
CIPFA's new president will also not lack experience for the role. He has been a member of the institute's council since 1994 and a member and chair of many of its committees and boards. He has been treasurer of the Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation and was its president in 1989/90.
Butler says he is keen to improve co-operation with other accountancy institutes. This is not a return to merger talk but reflects a realisation that there is a wealth of experience and knowledge that could be shared.
'I think it's crazy having six institutes reinventing wheels and competing with each other. There is scope for more collaboration,' he says.
As in his working life, Butler has mapped out what he wants to achieve in his year leading CIPFA. He plans to monitor performance through up to 20 high-level key performance indicators based on the institute's development plan. 'They will give me a feel for the organisation and let me know whether we remain on track,' he says.
John Butler, the incoming president of CIPFA, will open the CIPFA conference in Bournemouth on Wednesday, June 13 and chair three of the conference sessions
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