Specialist Consultant in Accountancy and Finance

Key service areas

• Finance
• Financial planning
• Accountancy

Experience

This associate is Managing Director of an independent consultancy services business; Chair of Impact housing association and a former local authority Strategic Director. He is a former member of the CIPFA national council, public finance management board and housing panel. He is a qualified member of the Chartered institute of public finance and accountancy (CIPFA), an associate member of the Chartered institute of housing and a fellow of the institute of leadership & management.

After graduating from Oxford University with a First Class Honours degree, he joined West Yorkshire Metropolitan County Council as a Trainee accountant. Appointments at Leeds City Council and Newcastle on Tyne City Council gave him experience of the finance of every local government service. In 1990, he was appointed Assistant County Treasurer at Staffordshire County Council. As Finance Director, and then Strategic Director, at Copeland Borough Council between 1993 and 1998, he became conversant with every aspect of the finance and strategic management of local government and housing. He left Copeland Council in 1998 to work as an Independent Consultant. Since then he has worked with central government, local authorities, housing associations, universities and others on a variety of financial and strategic issues that affect local government and housing.

His recent work has included: Acting as an examiner for CIPFA’s Certificate in international public financial management; preparing expert witness reports for judicial reviews of local authority budgets; preparing materials for postgraduate university courses; advising local authorities on financial management and accounting matters; developing and delivering training courses; advising on the evaluation of business cases and value for money; Carrying out and evaluating housing stock options appraisals; preparing housing business plans and financial ‘health checks’; developing financial modelling; reviewing leaseholder and tenant service charges; developing schemes for installation of solar panels; developing procurement and value for money strategies; evaluating efficiency gains; carrying out value for money reviews; acting as an associate housing inspector with a specialism in value for money; implementing and evaluating the impact of self-financing for council housing; and acting as an Independent Tenants’ and Residents’ Advisor. He is therefore well placed to explain how budgets and management accounts work in public organisations including local authorities and housing associations.