Comment / A rock in hard times

A £10 bet on Leicester City winning the premiership, Brexit and Donald Trump becoming US president would have won you £30m, such were the odds of all those ‘unlikely’ events. Overall, 2016 has been a year of surprises.

Here in the comparative quiet of HFMA, we’ve seen relatively few surprises. The pressure on our members has mounted throughout the year and the association has continued to be ‘the system’ providing support and opportunities for finance professionals to meet. 

As we come together in December for our annual conference, I am again reminded that the importance of the role played by the association is magnified when the service faces financial difficulties – a rock in hard times.

I’m very proud we are using the annual conference to launch our own qualifications leading to an MBA, which will start in May. So many members have helped in its development – I must pay tribute to Alison Myles and her team, who have worked so hard to pull it all together. The qualification will offer so many opportunities for us to increase the learning available. It is also central to incoming president Mark Orchard’s theme for 2017.

We continue to work hard to develop new services and improve existing ones. At the last meeting of the HFMA board, we agreed that the subscription would be payable monthly – at only £5, a bargain! We also continue to invest in our infrastructure – a new app is due next year – and we are developing ideas for our 2017-2020 strategy. With this, we aim to plot a course into the next decade.

I was recently fortunate to visit our colleagues in Australia, where I extended your good wishes to members there. They have renamed themselves HFMA Australia, which means there are now three HFMAs throughout the globe.  I expect much will come out of the learning we undertake together, and we will find new organisations and individuals in other countries who share our desire to learn together.

The problems are common – an ageing population, chronic disease, demographic change and technology advancement.  In some areas, the US and Australia are ahead of us, in others they are behind. There are opportunities for mutual learning and sharing and we have a solid partnership in place to facilitate this.

My final comments this year have to be for our president. Shahana Khan has travelled many miles for us this year, representing our interests and promoting our vision. This is despite the significant challenge facing all provider organisations and other commitments in her life.  Her simple message of Step up has encouraged members and challenged us as staff. In January, she gave evidence to the Public Accounts Committee (above), and followed that up with speeches and presentations up and down the country and at the US HFMA conference, ANI.

I’ve greatly enjoyed working with Shahana over the past year and in the run-up to her presidency and I know she will continue to contribute to the association. Many thanks Shahana from all of us! 

A finance professional’s job is never easy, but during 2016 I hope the association has provided you with support and made your life just that bit easier. Let’s hope we can do even more in 2017.