FAN Alert

7 May 2020

CIPFA FAN has provided this Alert to support all finance practitioners accounting under the 2019/20 Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting in the United Kingdom (the Code). We hope you find it of benefit.

CIPFA FAN Support Survey

Many thanks to everyone who shared your thoughts on how CIPFA FAN can best support you in respect of preparing the 2019/20 accounts. To date we have received 40 responses to the survey, and so many thanks for taking the time to reply despite the ongoing challenges.

Over half of the responses indicated a desire for FAN to run a webinar covering the key themes for the 2019/20 accounts, based around the topics in the Year End Bulletin. The specific requests for guidance were generally submitted ahead of the bulletin being published on 30 April, and so we hope that the bulletin has provided clarity over any concerns you had, so allowing you to proceed with the accounts preparation at the pace which is right for your authority.

The responses also requested more regular FAN updates and alerts to keep you informed of changes impacting on the accounts preparation requirements and any related COVID-19 developments, and we will endeavour to do this, with regular updates to complement our monthly newsletters to subscribers and non-subscribers. If you have any questions or areas for FAN to cover in future alerts please just let us know.

FAN Technical Support for Subscribers

Half of the survey responses acknowledged the importance of access to the FAN team in respect of getting answers to technical accounting queries.

This is a subscriber service only – for those who are in FAN subscribing organisations, don’t forget we are there to support you with your accounting queries. We hope that our input into the CIPFA Bulletin has ensured that the areas you were mainly concerned about have been covered, but please do get in touch with any of us if you have any remaining uncertainties.

For practitioners in non-subscribing organisations, if the ability to submit any technical accounting questions to the FAN team is of interest, please feel free to contact us for further details. Although the subscription year has already started, we would be happy to provide a quote for FAN subscription (including options for buying places to attend events / webinars) for the remainder of the 2020/21 year or indeed a two year package.

Local Authority Accounting Conferences (Webinar 23 June 2020)

Given the ongoing restrictions in place arising from COVID-19 our normal summer technical accounting update conferences will be delivered in webinar format. This brings advantages in that we are able to support practitioners in England, Wales and Scotland without being limited by travel times and costs. We anticipate formal details to go out next week, however for now please keep 23 June 2020 free as that is the proposed date we are considering.

Based on the survey feedback, the conference includes key topics covered in the Year-End Bulletin, and will be focused on the impact of COVID-19 and what this will mean for the current and future year’s accounting, financial reporting and auditing. It will also include an update on the 2020/21 Code and plans for 2021/22.

The webinar will run from approximately 9.30am to 1.15pm and will be charged at £145 + VAT for subscribers and £195 + VAT for non-subscribers. The webinar will be recorded and made available for all who have paid for attendance.

Details of the programme and how to book will go out shortly, but for now please keep the date free.

We hope this update is helpful and that you stay healthy and safe during these challenging times.

David, Caroline and Sandra