09 June 2010
Chief finance officers and their teams must be at the heart of efforts to reshape public services in the wake of spending cuts, CIPFA’s new president, Jaki Meekings Davis, told the conference today.
Achieving the cuts would not just be about taking money out of the budget but about resizing organisations and, in some cases, redesigning services, she said.
‘CFOs must be absolutely at the heart of all of this action – and their staff too will be centre stage, advising, managing, steering the process along, keeping implementation on track and on course,’ she said.
Meekings Davis said she was taking on the mantle of president against a backdrop of great turbulence and lack of certainty over everything from service structures to pay and pensions.
Although this uncertainty could not be dispelled, she said, the skill and experience of CIPFA members meant there was much they could do to face up to and overcome the challenges of the next few years.
‘The waters we are in may be unfamiliar, but they are by no means uncharted,’ she said.
She reminded delegates that CIPFA members had been through tough times before, citing the International Monetary Fund crisis of the 1970s, the reforms of the 1980s and the recession of the 1990s.
‘Always CIPFA members stepped up to the mark and demonstrated skill, resolve and purpose,’ Meekings Davis said, adding that those qualities were still apparent today.
Finance professionals could make a ‘huge contribution’, she added, particularly if they pooled their expertise to help restore the public finances to good health while maintaining critical services and protecting the most vulnerable people in society.
‘To me these are great causes to fight for, and great opportunities, which we can tackle with real optimism and confidence,’ she said.
