Whitehall financial leadership needs stronger role, says think-tank

24 Apr 13
Whitehall's financial leadership remains weak and fragmented when it should be playing a major role in central decision-making and performance management, according to the Institute for Government.

By Vivienne Russell | 24 April 2013

Whitehall's financial leadership remains weak and fragmented when it should be playing a major role in central decision-making and performance management, according to the Institute for Government.

A study, published by the think-tank today, found that the responsibilities of the role in UK central government compared unfavourably with those in other countries and the private sector. Authors Julian McCrae and Petr Bouchal observed that in Whitehall the leading finance professional is: ‘a part-time post, acting as a first among equals with no formal input into key decision-making processes’.

By comparison, ‘In all other countries that we studied, it is a senior, full-time post within a central organisation that is playing a clear role in the performance management system.’

The report, Financial leadership in government, added: ‘Looking at other centres of government, the UK has relatively weak arrangements for performance management. It is also noticeable that the UK’s Treasury does not take a leading responsibility for supporting performance management, in contrast to similar organisations in other countries.’

A ‘potentially fruitful’ way of improving financial management in Whitehall would be enhance the role it plays in supporting performance management, the authors said. In the private sector, performance management is underpinned by both financial and non-financial data, which is collated and analysed by the central executive team running an organisation. This is an approach that Whitehall could adopt, and the government could look to the private sector for expert guidance.

‘Drawing on this [private sector] experience to strengthen the centre of government has the potential to be a truly world-leading initiative,’ the report concluded.

Julian McCrae discusses the Institute for Government report on the PF Blog.

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