These blogs touch on some of the concepts and ideas about strategic finance that arise in the course of our work. This stuff really interests us, so if something strikes a chord, we're always happy to chat.
+
Strategic
(finance)
partners
Blogs
‘Value for money’ about more than benefits and costs
The tighter fiscal environment is requiring public sector agencies to reduce their costs during a period of high inflation. As part of this, public sector agencies will need to be more disciplined in reprioritising and seeking out programmes that are good ‘value for money’. Given the term ‘value for money’ means different things to different people, what does ‘value for money’ mean in practice? Read More
Public sector productivity is a real-life issue
“The Four Seasons” was written by Vivaldi in 1723 for a string quartet. Today, it still takes four musicians and the same technology to play the same piece. But the labour cost of the string quartet has increased significantly since the 18th century. From a management perspective, opportunities to reduce the cost of a live performance of The Four Seasons are virtually zero. Irrelevant to the public sector? Not so fast. Read More
Strategic finance: an oxymoron?
Why is it that finance people are often overlooked when a leadership team gathers to talk strategy? In part, it’s because the term ‘finance’ for most people means systems for managing resources that keep organisations running. This is operational finance: necessary but not sufficient to ensure organisations thrive (or even survive). To provide more value, finance needs to think and act strategically. This is where the term ‘strategic finance’ comes in. Read More
High priority thinking?
In recent years, “doing more with less” has been the catch cry in a public sector tasked with managing within fixed financial baselines. The mantra has done its dash. Many agencies have achieved most of what they can through efficiency savings and further gains through cost cutting will be at the margins. The time has come for a more difficult conversation – doing the same with less and, perhaps, stopping doing some things altogether. Read More
Keeping ahead of the financial fall-out of COVID-19
Even if ‘doing nothing’ or ‘nothing different’ has been appropriate in managing the financial impact of COVID-19 on your organisation, now may be the time to clarify where you are heading and to develop a plan. Read More
Devil is in the detail
Sometimes a major change can sneak up on you. And it’s no wonder when that change is buried deep in legislation. The Public Finance Amendment Act 2013 included a number of significant changes. One of these is the responsibility for Chief Executives to provide advice to appropriation Ministers on the efficiency and effectiveness of non-departmental expenditure. That’s a big shift in expectations. It’s a much broader role than a payments function (an investment approach) for non-departmental expenditure that will challenge some departments. Read More
Throw off the appropriation shackles
Overspending an appropriation is a serious performance issue for any public sector leader or organisation. But the combination of robust approval and monitoring processes and poorly designed appropriations can make things difficult. So what are the opportunities to make appropriations much easier to live with? Read More
Capital funding expectations (and the elephant in the room)
Departmental chief executives are expected to ensure their department accumulates sufficient depreciation funding to provide the capital needed to underpin future service needs. Given this, why are an increasing number of departments unable to internally fund their ongoing capital requirements? Read More