Today, a report unveiled a concerning reality – 50.7% of public sector finance and spend management professionals are mired in manual budgeting processes. This finding comes from the ‘Bridging the Digital Divide’ report, orchestrated by software and solutions provider, Advanced. The insights from the report are set to take centre stage in a live summit aimed at delving into the challenges confronting finance and procurement professionals within local and central governmental bodies.
Driving Digital Momentum in Governmental Workspaces
With local authorities bracing for a sharp £3.2bn budget deficit in 2023, exacerbated by escalating energy costs and the surging business expenditures, the one-day summit seeks to probe how digital transformation could be the beacon for sustaining the delivery of crucial frontline services.
The summit, open to public sector personnel, will reflect on the ramifications of the UK Government’s digital and data stride, ‘Transforming for a Digital Future’, unveiled in June 2022. The initiative underscores a swift digital metamorphosis of public services, fostering a data-driven decision-making milieu, thereby refining the quality, promptness, and accessibility of financial data and reporting across governmental channels.
A Sector Tethered to Bygone Practices
The report shed light on several sticking points:
- A significant 26% of public sector finance teams are not harnessing digital spend management solutions to their potential, consequently impeding value deliverance to taxpayers.
- About 32.3% are entangled in manual supplier management processes, thereby curtailing the efficacy of their spending budgets.
- A staggering 47.7% are ensnared in manual forecasting, while 41.5% are generating reports manually, thereby monopolising time that could be channeled towards more strategic pursuits.
Furthermore, 32.3% harbour reservations regarding the timeliness of their finance and spend data, underscoring the exigency for Cloud-based solutions offering real-time, precise data access. About 35.4% grapple with data access issues, a hurdle to efficiency and productivity, crafting a vexing professional realm.
A Conclave for Gleaning Insights and Exchanging Experiences
The summit is engineered to bridge finance and procurement strategies with organisational objectives. Thought leaders will impart their perspectives on nurturing innovation and fostering collaboration, alongside sharing invaluable takeaways from past experiences in instigating a cultural shift.
Helmed by seasoned journalist and ex-BBC anchor Denise Mahoney, the day will unfurl with a panel discussion featuring experts from CIPFA, National Audit Office, and SOCITM. Post-luncheon, roundtable sessions are on the agenda.
Mark Dewell, the Senior Vice President, Education, Government & Social Housing at Advanced, articulated, “With falling real term budgets in the public sector, professionals working in finance and spend management are tasked with a seemingly impossible challenge – to provide more, with less. The government has recognised that adopting digital solutions can enable more efficiency, greater productivity, and allow finance and spend management professionals to be more involved in strategic decisions based on accurate data. Digital is the key to maintaining the delivery of key public services and our summit will help people understand how to do that within their own organisations.”
The summit, ‘Powering the World of Work In Government’, is slated for 29th November at the State Rooms & Rooftop Terrace, 30 Euston Square, London, NW1 2FB. Registrations are now open, click here.