Public finance professionals work in an environment that changes continually. Policy priorities shift, service demands rise and the financial context rarely stands still. Through all of this, the profession must remain focused on its core responsibilities: sound judgment, stewardship of public money and service to the public.
Our vision for the integration between CIPFA and ICAEW is a practical response to how the professional landscape is evolving and how best public finance expertise can be built and deployed in the years ahead. This is about continuity as well as change.
Professional careers are not as linear as they once were. Many of us as public finance professionals move between sectors during our working lives, continuing to apply public service values in different settings. At the same time, expectations around governance, assurance and value for money have grown – as they should. Public finance skills therefore need to be both firmly grounded in the public sector and recognised widely beyond it.
CIPFA occupies a distinct role as the professional body for public financial management, governance, audit and accountability. That role remains essential. Our proposed integration with ICAEW is designed to preserve CIPFA’s public sector focus and expertise, while strengthening the institutional base that supports us. It offers a way of sustaining our specialism within a global professional environment that is becoming more consolidated.
Scale and reach matter. Larger organisations tend to have greater capacity to engage with policymakers, regulators and standard-setters, and to invest consistently in qualifications, training and professional support. Bringing CIPFA and ICAEW closer together creates an opportunity to combine our institutes’ strengths and extend the influence of public finance perspectives into other contexts, both in the UK and internationally.
For members, the integration will support professional recognition and career development. It will give us more options to build careers across different roles and settings, while maintaining our treasured professional identity rooted in public service. It will support continuous development of skills to enhance our contribution and value as responsibilities and organisational contexts evolve.
From my own experience across central government, the UN and other international organisations, the NHS and education, I have seen the difference that strong financial leadership makes. Where financial insight is integrated into decision-making, organisations are better equipped to manage risk, deliver services and remain accountable to the public they serve. Professional institutions play an important role in developing that capability and in maintaining shared standards.
I believe that our integration with ICAEW will strengthen our profession’s capacity to attract and support talented people, and to ensure that the principles of public sector financial management continue to carry weight and shape conversations at the most senior levels. It places CIPFA on a stronger footing that will allow us to continue fulfilling our purpose in a fast changing world, without losing our identity or focus.
I want us to respect CIPFA’s history, enhance the safeguards our contribution makes to public life, and take the opportunity integration offers to grow our role in the years and decades ahead.
Public finance exists to support the public good. This new CIPFA and ICAEW partnership will put us jointly in the vanguard of the profession. It can help us strengthen our authority. We really will be stronger together.
Read more: Stronger together – an interview with CIPFA and ICAEW chief executives on integration