FINANCE

Giving certainty in an uncertain world

Chief operating officer at Cornwall Council Tracie Langley looks at how to do financial planning in an era of huge uncertainty.

I don't know about you, but as I write this I am suffering from ‘back from leave' brain – which would be OK if it wasn't for everyone else suffering from the same. This week has been one of re-assessing the issues I was worried about, and making sure no new issues have cropped up through August.

Thankfully, the ‘Daddy Dragon' risks are the same ones I had before and there are no new ones, which is a relief. So, I am back to thinking about how to resolve the Daddy Dragons – the biggest of which is how we do financial planning in a period of huge uncertainty and trying to second guess what the Government Spending Review is going to reveal.

As finance directors, we have become pretty adept at working out what the Government is planning to do, which allows us to make reasonable estimates for planning purposes. This is the first year I have never been able to make even a reasonable estimate of likely income in the following year.

This has two impacts on me: first, it makes it impossible to give members certainty and they, in turn, are unable to talk to their groups with any measure of leadership, which makes me feel I haven't done my job properly. Second, I am unable to give any certainty to my colleagues in the leadership team about impacts at a time when they are looking to me to provide certainty. That also makes me feel I am not doing my job properly.

How do we as finance directors give certainty in an uncertain world? My approach has been to simplify each of the issues we have, splitting what is complex into bite-size chunks and presenting the issues as individual issues in a bundle which are linked, but separate. Presenting in this way means resolutions – which are also complex – can be split down into a menu of different solutions which can be linked to each of the issues. Simple!

Tracie Langley is chief operating officer at Cornwall Council

FINANCE

Call for strengthening oversight of developer contributions system

By William Eichler | 06 June 2025

Weaknesses in the developer contributions system intended to fund affordable housing and local infrastructure are undermining the ability of councils to nego...

FINANCE

Government backs remote attendance at council meetings

By Izzy Lepone | 06 June 2025

The Government’s remote attendance announcement is a ‘positive step’ that gives councils greater power, says the Local Government Association (LGA).

FINANCE

Reform of SEND cannot come quickly enough

By Simon Edwards | 05 June 2025

With deficits increasing and liabilities for SEND accruing interest on the existing debt, this issue can no longer be ducked, says Simon Edwards. 'This is wh...

FINANCE

The impacts and risks of immigration and skills policies

By Oliver Lodge | 05 June 2025

Closer collaboration across Government departments and local authorities is vital to securing the benefits of immigration and protecting workers, says Oliver...

Tracie Langley

Popular articles by Tracie Langley