More About CIPFA
Public Finance: stepping up
Work in the public service offers real-life
challenges and fantastic career prospects.
Get the lowdown on what the public
sectors really like, and how the Chartered
Institute of Public Finance and
Accountancy (CIPFA) can help you get
qualified.
Why the public services?
Working in the public sector means having
the opportunity to give something back. We
all use public services and, while accountants
are not front-line workers such as
teachers or nurses, they play a key role in
delivering those services.
The public service offers varied and
challenging opportunities, with employers
including the NHS, local councils, and
Government departments such as the
Department for Work & Pensions, Department
for Trade and Industry or HM
treasury. On occasion, they face making
tough financial decisions about levels of
public-service funding and where it should
be channelled, such as one service over
another. There will always be a place for
accountants in the public services, but the
issues involved will continue to evolve.
Good Employers
Public service organisations are generally
good employers, who are concerned about
what's best for their staff as individuals, as
well as for the organisation as a whole.
They usually offer good pensions, generous
holiday packages and plenty of training.
Ensuring employees have a work/life
balance is a high priority, and there are
exciting career prospects.
CIPFA's role
CIPFA is the leading professional accountancy
body for the public services. For
budding accountants working in the public
services, a CIPFA qualification is the
natural choice. The majority of finance
directors in the NHS and local government
are CIPFA members. But a CIPFA
qualification doesn't mean being confined
to the public sector, in fact over 20% of
CIPFA members work in the private sector.
Training with CIPFA means getting a workbased
qualification. The course involves a
combination of exams and a minimum 400
days' work experience. Most students are
on graduate schemes and are given block
or day release by their employer for college
tuition, but there is also a distance learning
option. The course has three levels
Certificate, Diploma, and Final Test of
Professional Competence. It usually takes
around three years to complete. Some
students with a finance or accountancy
degree are exempt from parts of the
course, so may complete it faster.
“CIPFA has proven to be an excellent
choice of qualification, helping me to
develop not just technical accountancy
knowledge, but also business and management
skills as well. Since starting with the
NHS, I have worked with CIPFA
qualified Senior Finance Managers,
Directors of Finance and Chief Executives,
and am confident that the qualification has
lead to opportunities in my career, that may
have otherwise not been possible.”
Rachel Hepworth, Assistant Director of
Finance — Financial Performance at the
University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust and past CIPFA student.
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