CIPFA launches new Financial Management Code

The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy has launched its Financial Management (FM) Code, to drive improvement in financial management for councils.

The new code is the first from the Institute in almost 15 years, and brings together many areas of local government financial management into one place. It follows extensive engagement with senior leaders in public finance from across the country.

It is based on a set of standards and principles, including organisational leadership, transparency, assurance and sustainability. Its aim is to place financial management at the heart of policy and decision making in local government.

Although the FM Code comes into effect from April 2020, in recognition of the pressures facing local authorities, 2021/22 will be the first full compliance year for the Code. This allows authorities a shadow year to work towards full implementation.

Rob Whiteman, CIPFA CEO, said: “The development of the FM Code has been a massive collaborative undertaking. CIPFA is hugely grateful to all the professionals who have supported the creation of guidance that the sector as a whole can get behind. Our ambition is to embed good financial management as an organisational responsibility. It is vital that, as a sector, we break down historically siloed ways of working and move towards a sense of collective responsibility when it comes to finance.”