Owen Mapley on stage at PF Live 2024. Image © Rafael Bastos
Speaking at PF Live just over a week into his tenure, he said CIPFA’s strength in delivering education, training and development – along with its experience in helping senior individuals tackle hard-hitting issues and its ability to facilitate networking and mentoring – means it is ideally placed to support every stage of members’ careers.
Setting out his immediate priorities, Mapley said he is also focused on defining exactly what CIPFA is and what its mission should be.
“Coming into an organisation is the ideal time to look at the ‘what, why and how’ – so I want to focus in on our mission as a champion of good quality financial management and to be much clearer with our members and the wider community about how we operate.”
Mapley said his third priority for the early stages of his tenure will be ensuring CIPFA members are equipped to play a role in the macro issues facing their organisations both today and in the future.
Speaking more broadly about the future of the sector, Mapley said he hoped the change of UK government would provide an opportunity to reset the relationship between Westminster and other parts of the public sector.
“I hope this is the start of a reframing of the relationship between different parts of the public service – so we don’t just have central government telling others what to do, but real relationships of collaboration, mutual respect and working together,” he told delegates at the event in Manchester.
“I think there is also more we as public finance accountants can do to help make clear the state we are in,” he added. “There are some massive issues we are facing – many of our public services are not performing as we would want them to – and we have a role to speak truth to power.
“If 10% of larger councils are having to turn to borrowing money just to finance their running costs, that’s not a sustainable situation and we have to be frank about that.”
PF caught up with Owen Mapley for one of our PF Live Podcasts.
