pre exam course

unexpected expenditure - example flooding

revenue budget 1-2% underspends investments

staff salaries

money markets

how safe / secure is the investment

councils tend to go for the safest investment

putting money away for unexpected expenditure

each year

money works for you, generate additional income

what type of organisations can be invested in? how much? credit scores

previous expenditure

Inflation, demographics, social care for aging population

have to incorporate capital expenditure projects finishing in order to understand the costs it is going to incur to run, for example a leisure centre could be completed within the final year, we would need to incorporate costs for staffing in order to run it

what constitutes a lawful budget

April - October CFO issues detailed guidelines to various departments requesting basic budget figures & date in which they are needed CFO must provide advice & assistance to departments & ensure processes have been followed Guidlines should outline the councils policies for expansion / contraction for individual departments consideration of figures for following 2 years

October - November CFO has scrutinised budget returns, budget will be submitted to the appropriate service committee for review CFO will outline the effects the changes will have

December - January services committee Cary out full scrutiny. each authority schools receive final notification of grant entitlement along with figures for years 2 & 3

process of collection of the figures, with any final adjustments

reserves can be earmarked for specific departments for example social care

meet demands

No it depleats saving, need to have an overspend policy’s and as reserves are spent they need to be re allocated

3-5 years

aspirations, meeting manifesto commitments of people in power, financial stability, making predictions

it’s a judgement on future, unknown what grants are going to be given in the coming years, inflation, Change in government

each year

capital budgets are over a longer timer period & are built from the medium term financial plan, revenue expenditure is funded through services and local gov whereas capital expenditure is sourced through borrowing

what the local authority should be doing to manage capital projects, making sure whatever the council is borrowing is affordable

borrowing, public works loan board as interest rates are lower than going to the financial markets, use reserves, use overdraft, fund capital through leasing

day to day running costs for example salaries?

purchasing / building assets

central government, council tax / business rates, fees & charges

loans, public works loan board, money markets

review income & expenditure momthly, Quarterly reports

recruitment difficulties which lead to more agency staff, salaries, overtime due to staff shortages

Central Government grants - No flexibility other than bidding for grants, Council Tax - councils can go to public referendum if they want to increase charges higher than government set, Non domestics rates - No flexibility, Fees & Charges - flexibility, local authorities are able to set their own

car parking, leisure centre, penalties

determining price

charges in peak hours and non peak hours

quality assurance

audit final accounts, make sure the council is providing value for money

audit committee & External auditor to avoid duplication

Controls - SOAPSPAM

segregation of duties - ensuring no person is responsible for recording & processing. involving more people limits the risk of minipulation or errors organisation controls - definition of structure, responsibilities, organisation should have a plan that defines & allocates responsibilities Authority & Approvals - transactions to be approved by responsible person Personnel - adequate facilities, procedures designed to ensure people selected to operate a system are properly selected Supervision - all actions should be supervised, responsibilities should be communicated Physical Controls - ensuring assets such as computer equipment are restricted to authorised personnel only Accounting controls - controls in the recording function that check transactions have been authorised managment controls - managment should review the adequacy & effectiveness of internal control systems

training

regularly changing passwords, restricted access, authorisation limit for refunds, LOA

intro, strategy, retention, conclusion

Build relationships with career advice teams, Attend all career days within area, explain ow we can offer career progression, specific job descriptions with requirements, use technology, highlight entry level jobs with apprenticeships & training

can be difficult with regards to budgets, competitive compensations & benefits, competitive salary for college and school leavers, offering flexible working, clear career pathways

Title, who is the report to, date, author, paragraphs

Intro,Objective, Current, Improvements, Key strategies, Feedback, Conclusion

Telephone, Email, Online Portal

collection rates, turnarounds, complaints level, accuracy levels, call abandonment, performance stats on online services

more qualifications within the service, knowledge, able to fill higher positions

training, access to attending conferences / events, subsidise professional fees

intro, risk awareness, impact analysis, prevention, mitigation, resumption, implementation, communication & co ordination, training, improvements, conclusion

assign roles, test & reherse, Review

identify the problem, assign staff with idea of being

revise current performance targets, change turnaround time