15 October, Hilton Belfast Hotel
Public Finance Live Northern Ireland 2024
09.00 Registration and refreshments
Location: Lagan Foyer
09.40 Welcome to the CIPFA conference
Speakers:
Stephen Mungavin, CIPFA Chair Northern Ireland Branch
Carol Culley, CIPFA President
Owen Mapley, Chief Executive, CIPFA
William Crawley, Conference host, Journalist and Broadcaster
Location: Lagan Suite
10.00 Keynote address
The speech highlights the Committee’s current work programme. Emphasising the importance of ensuring that PAC’s recommendations lead to meaningful action, the Chair stresses the need for accountability from the Executive and a commitment to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of public spending
Speaker: Daniel McCrossan MLA, Chair, Public Accounts Committee
Location: Lagan Suite
10.30 The social value of cultural heritage and arts projects – identifying good practice
The ranking of economic projects can be relatively easily determined using a range of quantitative economic measures, but estimating the anticipated impact of arts, heritage, sports and community projects – cultural projects – is more challenging.
Speakers:
Gareth Hetherington, Director of Economic Policy Centre, Ulster University’s Economic Policy Centre
Gavin McBride, Deputy Director, Historic Environment Division, Department for Communities
Location: Lagan Suite
11.00 Refreshments & exhibition
Location: To be announced
11.30 The need for public spending in Northern Ireland
Sir Robert Chote has raised the importance for multi-year budgeting to enable long-term planning and policy implementation. He will discuss this as part of his session along with his view on single-year budgets.
Speaker: Sir Robert Chote, Chair, NI Fiscal Council
Location: Lagan Suite
12.05 Workshops sessions
Addressing regional inequalities through innovative partnerships
This panel will discuss how cross sector partnerships are the key to unlock innovate supports to tackle regional inequality.
Speakers:
Kristel Miller, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Ulster University and Director of EPIC Futures NI
Deirdre Ward, Director of Work and Wellbeing, Department for Communities
Lisa McIlvenna, Deputy Managing Director, Business in the Community NI
Joan Ballantine, Professor of Accounting, Ulster University
Jeffrey Matsu, Chief Economist, CIPFA
Location: Lagan Suite
Brookfield Suite
or
Leveraging ERP and xFP&A technology for finance good in the public sector
How Microsoft ERP Business Central and Solver xFP&A address public sector challenges including getting more out of fewer resources with AI and OCR technology, and how high-fidelity reporting and budgeting empowers stakeholders to make informed strategic and operational decisions.
Speakers:
David Wyke, Practice Manager, Codec
Mandy Rai, Managing Director UK, Solver
Location: Brookfield Suite
or
Towards new internal audit standards
CIPFA is proposing a new Code for the Governance of Internal Audit in local government to operate alongside the standards.
Speaker: Diana Melville, Governance Advisor, CIPFA
Location: Glenbank Suite
12.45 Lunch and exhibition
Location: Lagan Foyer
13.35 Planning for the workforce of the future
With an ageing population and the increase of automated services available what will the finance workforce of the future look like?
Speakers:
Marie Doyle, Partner, Deloitte
Patrick Gallen, Director, GallenTCF Limited
Owen Mapley, Chief Executive, CIPFA
Location: Lagan Suite
14.15 What does the future look like?
How does the public sector respond to a crisis of trust, of increasing demand, global populism and increasing, inter-related shocks? This session explores these external trends, and how public sector organisations can keep their eyes on the core function of delivering for their communities in a time of political and economic turmoil.
Speaker: Kelly Beaver, CEO, IPSOS Mori
Location: Lagan Suite
14.55 Workshop sessions
Managing rising demand in adult and children’s social care
Speaker: Dr William Burns, Social Care Policy Advisor, CIPFA
Location: Brookfield Suite
or
Finance on the frontline: current challenges and how to support and promote change
Speakers:
Ian Owen FCPFA, LG Industry Director, TechnologyOne
Mark McBride, Vice Chair and Council Member for NI CIPFA
Stephen Patterson, Government Lead, AWS
Joanne Pitt, Senior Policy Manager, CIPFA
Location: Lagan Suite
or
CIPFA technical update
This session will provide a brief review of the current main technical accounting issues across local and central government.
Speaker: Alan Bermingham, Technical Advisor, CIPFA
Location: Glenbank Suite
15.30 Refreshment and exhibition
Location: Lagan Foyer
15.55 Unlocking infrastructure investment for net zero and growth
Infrastructure investment is critical to driving growth across the UK and tackling climate change. However, the scale of the financing challenge is significant. It is estimated that over £50bn of additional investment is needed per year to meet the UK’s net zero goals.
Speaker: Lorna Pimlott, Managing Director, UK Infrastructure Bank
Location: Lagan Suite
16.25 Being human in the digital age
Lord Holmes of Richmond MBE and Paralympian is a passionate advocate for the potential of technology and the benefits of diversity and inclusion with a particular interest in AI. This session will discuss the reality of being human in a digital age.
Speaker: Lord Holmes of Richmond MBE and Paralympian
Location: Lagan Suite
16.25 Closing of conference
Speaker: Steve Mungavin, CIPFA Chair Northern Ireland Branch
Location: Lagan Suite