Seminar: Demystifying Local Government Finance for Private Sector & Partners

Local councils work with a wide variety of private sector suppliers and partners to deliver essential public services to their communities. However, the way that councils are governed and controlled, how decisions are made and where the finance comes from is very different from the private sector. Therefore, a solid understanding of such matters is essential for any private sector organisation seeking to do business in the local government marketplace.

This seminar is specifically designed to highlight key issues and information that potential private sector partners must understand to effectively win and retain contracts within local councils.

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

- Understand how local government is organised, and the role of elected
members.

- Understand how budgets are formulated and agreed and key sources of
funding for local government.

- Use and interpret key financial documents

- Appreciate what local councils require from private sector partners and
suppliers.

Speaker and Presenter Information

Ian Fifield, Ian is a CIPFA qualified accountant with over 20 years’ experience in designing and delivering financial management training for local authorities and other public service organisations. Ian’s training experience includes: designing training seminars for finance professionals, service managers and elected members. He has co-authored the Centre for Public Scrutiny publications On the Money, considering effective financial and budget scrutiny methods and also Treasure Your Assets, considering local government invest and borrowing activities.

Alan Waters (Cllr), Leader of the Council, Norwich City Council and Learning and Development Manager, LGIU. Alan has extensive experience in dealing with the practical political issues and service delivery choices that face councils and elected members at a time of deep funding cuts in local authority budgets. Alan delivers a wide range of training and development programmes for the LGIU. He is a Member Peer with the Local Government Association and a board member of the Journal ‘Local Economy’.