Comment / Keep your hands of FSD

A key reason for the HFMA’s existence is its role in providing continuing professional development (CPD) opportunities for the finance community and beyond.  It does this via networks including branches and mechanisms such as e-learning. In England, there are also the established finance skills development (FSD) operations in each strategic health authority, which provide training and other opportunities. The HFMA works closely with many local FSD units and in some places is a provider of services. We pride ourselves on delivering good services and we are trying to move the agenda forward to liaise with any organisation that shares our vision.

We are hearing consistent messages from all three political parties about the extent of public sector cuts after March next year and, as a service, we have some time to prepare. The association has been championing smart savings, to help organisations avoid one-off increases in waiting lists or reductions in quality by looking at such issues as headcount, pathway reconfiguration and efficiency. These are useful contributions to a debate on how we can survive post election.

When the service has retrenched before, one of the first things unreconstructed finance directors have done is simply frozen all spending on finance training across the organisation. Many have not allowed staff to attend free events, let alone paid fees for training.

There is some logic in a finance director trying to set an example by being meanest to their own staff while the ‘real’ training – among clinical staff– remains unaffected. But, as with clinical quality, we have now entered a new ball game.

CPD is now mandatory across the world’s accountancy bodies, which means qualified finance staff must be exposed to a certain amount of CPD across the year in line with the objectives of their job. And the message for organisations is that they must release their finance staff for training because we are important too. Finance professionals need their skills updating just as much as nurses.

As a key provider of this type of training and someone who cares about members being developed, the association welcomes this type of professional requirement on behalf of the professional bodies.

But is that the right way of looking at the issue? My view is that we should look to inculcate the aims of the HFMA – that CPD is right and should be promoted – into every finance person in the NHS.

So I challenge finance directors to continue to support the valuable work that both FSD and the HFMA are doing because it is the right thing to do – not just because someone tells us to do it. We are investing in the development of finance across organisations through non-finance staff training and this can only help as we move into more challenging times.

At the HFMA we always want to help, which is why we deliberately try to keep everything at a low cost. We will try to innovate by providing as many programmes at cost as we can, but if there is anything you think we could be doing, my door is always open.