Breaking down the barriers to prompt payment

Councils have made some progress in improving their payment performance but problems still persist. Late payment threatens the survival of thousands of small businesses each year. In 2016 more than £26m was owed to SMEs in outstanding invoices.

Local authorities’ payment workload is heavy. Research has found that a typical council processes 160,000 invoices a year and trade with around 8,000 suppliers.

But taking action to improve payment performance has a range of benefits for councils, from support for the local economy to sustainable savings and efficiencies.

This webinar will:

• Examine the obstacles to prompt payment and consequent problems for councils and SMEs
• Offer practical actions you can take to improve your payment performance
• Highlight a local government case study
• Recap best practice on prompt payment compliance

Featured speakers:

John Betts, head of finance, Warwickshire County Council

Mohamed Hans, procurement adviser, CIPFA Procurement & Commissioning Network

Ben Jackson, CEO, Oxygen Finance