Director
CurrentProviding interim support and consultancy services for local authorities, clients to date include 3 London boroughs, a metropolitan and unitary authorities, a local government pension fund and a joint waste authority. Working as a consultant, I was proud to be part of the closedown team at Westminster City Council that was first in the UK to publish audited accounts for both 2014/15 (by 18 May 2015 ) and 2015/16 (by 15 July 2016). I have a proven track record in helping local authorities to deliver high quality year end accounts with a clear audit trail, leading to a smooth audit process, reduced fees, and no material errors identified.Other consultancy work has identified budget savings of up to £50m through reviews of Minimum Revenue Provision and capital financing calculations, and HRA accounting. Work with a London borough led to significant improvements in Collection Fund accounting and business processes, reducing overall local tax arrears by £16m.I have provided accounting views on a range of subjects including group accounting, PFI and leasing, debt rescheduling, Financial Instruments, capital accounting and financing calculations. I have also developed estimation techniques for complex provisions and accruals. These have all been accepted by external audit, successfully resolving potential problems at an early stage. I have provided training for finance staff all levels, as well as 1-to-1 coaching and mentoring for chief accountants and section 151 officers. I have also provided training for elected members on "understanding the accounts".I have authored CIPFA's annual Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Example Year-End Accounts since 2012/13, co-authored CIPFA's LGPS Management Costs Guidance, as well as CIPFA's Good Practice Guidance on Preparing LGPS annual reports. I have also contributed to CIPFA's annual Code of Practice Guidance Notes for Practitioners. I am a regular speaker at CIPFA conferences, workshops and events.
