The Treasury has spent the last two years seeking to get qualified finance directors heading up the finance functions of all major departments.

Only three months ago, the goal looked distant, with the department needing 12 FDs to meet its goal, of 45 departments in total.

At the time of writing, however, the government accounting mandarins in the Treasury, headed by Mary Keegan, seemed to have sealed the deal.

A spokesman said that 90% of the money controlled by the departments was under the control of a qualified FD, a figure that the Treasury was confident would rise to 99% today.

What’s happened

Tony Blair and Gordon Brown made the pledge to improve government accounting two years ago.

Many were surprised that there were not qualified FDs in place already. Some opposition MPs have expressed surprise that it has taken this long to ensure government finances were managed by qualified people.

Liberal Democrat MP Stephen Williams, said he was astounded that it had taken until now to hire professionally qualified FDs. ‘The government was boasting about how much better it had got at managing public finances, but I was astounded that it had never had FDs in place before now’ he said last year.

The department said just before Christmas that, barring around four smaller departments, the target would be met. Those departments outside that represented ‘less than 1% of spending’, a spokesman said.

Recent private sector appointees include Mark Clarke, brother of former Home secretary Charles Clarke. Clarke became director general, finance and strategy group at the Department of Trade and Industry this summer. He is the first professionally qualified FD the department has ever had.

What’s going to happen

Ideally, the public sector will see fewer major accounting scandals than it has.
The most recent major problems were at the Home Office, whose accounts were qualified by the National Audit Office.

Qualifying the 2005-6 accounts, Sir John Bourne, the head of the NAO, noted system and control weaknesses that continue to exist, as well as ‘ineffective cash management procedures.’

Private sector businesses with qualified FDs have accounting problems too, of course. But the government will be hoping its success in hiring and training its top finance officials will put an end to such unpleasant publicity.