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About us
IPSA is a strong and independent regulator that regulates and administers the business costs and decides the pay and pensions of the 650 elected MPs and their staff in the UK. We were created by the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009, as the world’s first independent regulator of MPs’ financial renumeration. Our role is to implement financial controls, internal audit, data protection and transparency to ensure MPs comply with the rules.
Our new strategy describes how we will build on our learning to date and improve on what we do to support democracy with great service, fair rules and wise spending. As we transform, we will continue our business as usual work, administering the business costs and pay of the 650 MPs and their 3750 staff.
Our strategy at a glance
What we know
Our purpose remains of critical importance but we know there are inefficiencies in the way we process and validate MPs’ pay and business costs and that our regulatory scheme is complex. As a result, MPs spend a significant amount of time on administration and the potential for errors is high. On average, each MP supports c.73,000 constituents across the UK and demand for their time has increased as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. MPs and the areas and people they serve have varied needs and IPSA must be agile in response to these differing needs and demographics. There is also growing pressure to control costs. For us to meet these challenges and enable MPs to spend more time acting in the national interests and those of their constituents, we are evolving our approach to improve our service, simplify the Scheme, deliver better value for money for the taxpayer and develop our people.
Our purpose - why we exist
Supporting democracy with great service, fair rules and wise spending.
Our values - what we stand for
We have five key values that support our vision and shape our culture:
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Staying connected: We’re connected to each other and our customers by a common purpose.
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Seeing the bigger picture: We have foresight and always try to see the bigger picture. We anticipate needs to ensure the service we deliver is seamless.
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Being open: We listen to understand and act with tact and empathy. We challenge in the right way and deliver on our promises.
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Doing the right thing: We make independent decisions based on balanced and fair judgments. We do the right thing and aim for right first time, every time. If we make a mistake, we fix it quickly.
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Making a difference: We are knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. We understand our customers and deliver exemplary service.
Our strategic objectives - how we'll get there
Improve customer service, simplify our policy, deliver financial value, grow our people.
Our actions, goals & measures – how we will know
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The public trust us to regulate independently and effectively and have confidence that we deliver a value for money service
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MPs trust us and use our services efficiently and effectively to enable them to focus on representing and supporting their constituents
About the Finance Team
Reporting to the Finance Director, the Finance team is responsible for a wide range of activity from basic accounting such as day to day transactional accounting and reimbursement of business costs to providing financial information to the organisation to support strategic decision making, preparing IPSA’s financial statements and submitting our statutory accounts to the Treasury.
The team consists of four core teams; Management Accounts, Financial Control, Business Partners and Systems Accountants. Adopting best practice principles in the management of £250m of public money and budgeting and forecasting a customer focused financial service for the equivalent of 650 small businesses, the team is also responsible for creating best in class processes, controls and reporting, anticipating risks and ensuring financial data is current and accurate.
