This is a newly-created role as part of our succession plan in anticipation of my retirement in 2025. Joining us now as Deputy CFO is likely to place you in a strong position to step up as I move on.  

 

Since I joined the authority in 2018 we have been building capacity in our Finance team and improving core financial strategies, plans and processes. There is still further work to be done, opportunities to seize and challenges to address, but overall Reigate & Banstead is in a good position.

 

Like every local authority we are finding it increasingly challenging to balance the budget as costs rise and resources are under pressure, however we are starting from a sound financial base with buoyant earmarked reserves and no long-term debt. Our Medium-Term Financial Plan sets the framework for budget-setting decisions and we have a council-wide Financial Sustainability Programme that is delivering a range of projects with the objective of reducing costs and increasing income. This is underpinned by officers and Members working together to ensure that our finances remain under control, with emphasis on transparency of reporting and proactive collaboration throughout the budget cycle. 

 

Recent challenges for the Finance Team have included bringing financial reporting up to date after addressing longstanding historic issues in our fixed asset records. This work is nearing conclusion and is a great example of how our Finance team is committed to continuous improvement and works well together to tackle issues when they are identified.

 

Looking ahead, the Finance Team is now planning for migration of our financial systems (Unit4’s Business World On) to the Cloud and implementing a replacement income management system.

 

We are also supporting service heads as they assess the financial implications of new initiatives – life at Reigate & Banstead is never dull as our Members and officers are committed to ongoing service improvement and there is always a wide range of projects and developments underway. This means that the pace of change and demands on the Finance team can be challenging at times, but the underlying Reigate & Banstead culture of services working together and officers supporting each other helps keep it manageable, and enjoyable.

 

In summary, I hope that this introduction has provided a brief insight into Reigate & Banstead as an authority and the role of our Finance Team. I am available to provide more information if you have any questions or would like to discuss.

 

We look forward to receiving your application and meeting you.

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