CIPFA
Shining a strong light
The Local Government Association is about to launch a review of its peer challenge process. Paul Marinko asks whether the approach is robust enough to meet the demands of a tough financial climate.
Lancashire first to borrow using municipal bonds agency
Local government’s dormant vehicle for lending councils cash was boosted today after announcing details of its first municipal bond with Lancashire CC.
'One-fifth of audit contracts should be put back out to tender'
The organisation responsible for appointing auditors should take away up to 20% of current contracts from existing suppliers and put them back out to tender, a top accountancy body has said.
Doubts cast over council's £100m investment plan
West Berkshire Council is to review its property investment strategy.
Time for a ‘grown-up’ chat about audit
Serious questions have been raised about the level of failure to complete council audits just one year into the new procurement regime, says Chris Buss. What is going wrong?
Councils are faring well on finance
Last month, CIPFA published its resilience index tool – and the picture for local government is better than expected. Heather Jameson looks at the data.
How will Brexit impact UK public services?
A area of primary concern for CIPFA is the lack of an economic impact assessment on the Prime Minister's Brexit deal, says Rob Whiteman - and without that we are 'flying blind'.
Councils still shine after a decade of austerity
CIPFA's new resilence data tool is a 'dataset, not a crystal ball', says Heather Jameson. It shows that despite a decade of cuts, councils have weathered the storm. Wouldn't it be great to see how well they could do when the sun shines, she adds.
Index reveals true scale of town halls’ resilience
Northamptonshire CC is no longer the council most at risk when it comes to its financial stability, data has revealed.
Council buys office block 150 miles away
South Somerset DC has paid £9.7m for an office block 150 miles away in Welwyn Garden City as part of its latest commercial investment.
CIPFA calls for new regulatory body
The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) today called for the formation of an independent regulatory body to oversee local audit.
DATA EXCLUSIVE: Resilience index shows just 10% of councils are at financial risk
The ‘majority of councils’ are not showing signs of major financial stress, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy has claimed.
Surge in number of council tax fraud cases
The number of council tax fraud cases uncovered by local authorities increased by a fifth over the past year, new research has found.
CIPFA in further property investment crackdown
The prudential code has been further clarified to ‘ensure that responsible decisions are made with transparency and financial sustainability in mind’.
More cash needed to improve outcomes - report
More money on top of spending pledges made by the Government ahead of the General Election will be required to improve outcomes, public sector experts have warned.
IFS research claims councils need billions more in funding
Councils will need billions of extra pounds worth of funding in the next parliament if they are to meet the rising cost of adult social care, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has calculated.
'Public outcry' needed to spur social care reform
A ‘public outcry’ about the state of the social care system is needed to spark the political will to find solutions, a top mandarin has said.
LGA fears over audit delays
Problems with completing a large number of audits on time could lead to councils being penalised, the Local Government Association (LGA) fears.
Finance head quits after damning CIPFA report
Windsor & Maidenhead RBC’s head of finance, Rob Stubbs, has resigned from the authority weeks after a damning report from experts, The MJ has learnt.
What does our sector want?
It seems the appetite for localism and fiscal devolution is outweighed by fears the burden of care will swallow up all the resources, according to the findings of a survey of chief executives. Heather Jameson reports