28 September 2007
The former finance director of an NHS hospital trust has been 'suspended' from CIPFA membership after being found guilty of professional misconduct and of breaching the institute's standards.
Andrew Wooding was finance director at the Royal Wolverhampton Hospitals NHS Trust which, in 2001/02 and 2002/03, used non-current funds to cover a deficit of up to £6m.
A CIPFA disciplinary hearing held over the summer heard that Wooding failed to warn the trust board of the seriousness of its financial problems and did not develop a viable financial recovery plan. Instead, Wooding went on to present the board with a 'defective' and 'unrealistic' budget for 2003/4, the hearing found.
By the time of the hearing Wooding's CIPFA membership and employment at the trust had ended. However the institute's rules state that ex-members must be subject to disciplinary rules, and so Wooding will be suspended from re-admittance for two years.
Concerns about the state of financial reporting, planning and control at the trust were raised by the Audit Commission in September 2005.
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