CIPFA pushes 3-year budget plans
Three-year budgeting plans will help local authority finance departments meet the challenges of Best Value, according to a report by the commercial arm of public-sector accountancy institute CIPFA.
The IPF report found that almost all councils believe service improvement cannot be achieved using traditional, incremental and budgeting processes.
Brian Livingston of CIPFA, said: ‘The ability to achieve strategic change within the current budget process is extremely limited and consequently the system tends to favour the status quo.’
The report follows a 9-month consultation period with local authority practitioners and includes contributions from a sub-group of representatives from a range of Scottish local authorities.