Comment / The scissors of hope

For those who have been following the twists and turns of the public spending debate, a phrase has been coined to describe our peril – the scissors of doom. The upward blade represents rising government borrowing, the downward one falling tax revenues.  There is no doubt this is a real phenomenon as the government tries to kick start the economy, mop up after the banking debacle and help those in need.  

Added to this, quantitative easing poses its own risk, not least inflation, as classic monetarist theory will tell you. The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee recently approved a further £50bn to take the overall ‘printing money’ exercise up to £175bn. Even in the NHS that’s a lot of money.  I am no economist, but even I can tell you that if inflation kicks in, a flat cash settlement will mean severe hardship for the service.

But we should not allow the gloom and doom to overcome us. Why shouldn’t we see this as an opportunity for talented finance professionals to step in and take the initiative?

The HFMA believes finance professionals who have kept their skills up to date, who have sought out good practice and learned the lessons from previous downturns will be ready for the challenges. These are clearly challenging times that will provide a serious test for our world class finance function as we seek to grapple with an apparently diminishing budget, while coping with ever-rising demands. I have mentioned before that the association is preparing to help and support its members – this has been a core feature of Bill Shields’ theme this year in showcasing the theme ‘Building world class finance’.

The board sat down with stalwarts from the branches and committees last month to map out how our association will look in the future. As I mentioned in the last issue, we are looking at how the HFMA can influence the current agenda. One way we identified was to keep doing more of what we’ve been doing: solid technical work, referenced articles, a quality news service via the website and more of this magazine. Not surprisingly the group agreed with that. The HFMA does best by taking surveys and other data and producing real information that can help you make decisions and keep a weather eye on what’s going on elsewhere.

There are also a number of areas in which we are making substantial progress, not least in the setting of standards and developing advice, which would previously have been the territory of the Department

of Health. For example, the Audit committee handbook due out in the autumn is a good example of us forging ahead and setting the pace. 

I hope this trend will continue because the more you are involved as practitioners, the more opportunity you have to influence the local agenda where you are.

So perhaps the scissors of hope should represent rising confidence, knowledge and skills on the rising blade, and reduced and smart cost savings on the descending blade. They should indicate where we think the senior finance professional should be – at the heart of the action.