Caroline Mawhood has been chosen as the new president of CIPFA at the institute's high profile annual conference.

Mawhood, the first female assistant auditor general at the National Audit Office, took over from John Butler at the Brighton summit, which included CIPFA's AGM today.

Setting out her plans for her year in office, Mawhood said: 'This is a very exciting time to take on the CIPFA presidency. The organisation’s priority is to strengthen public financial management here and abroad. I want to use my experience to build on the foundations laid by my predecessor.

Mawhood added: 'In the current difficult economic climate I intend to promote the importance of financial management in ensuring real value for money in public services. To this end we will continue to develop the contribution we make in the UK and in the international arena.'