Comment / Make it happen

I recently attended the HFMA’s Governance and Audit Committee – not one of the association’s board committees, but the place where NHS governance issues are debated and discussed.  It is made up of a mix of internal and external audit practitioners, representatives from key groups and senior finance staff.  A key item on the agenda is the revised Audit committee handbook, a product the committee is justifiably proud of. 

As a non-accountant, I found the hour and a half, in which minute details were dissected and sometimes hotly debated, very hard going. However, I was struck by the ferocity of argument on occasions, with members really challenging others about matters of governance. At the end, all participants felt happy with their efforts and that a real ‘job of work’ had been achieved – the handbook moves a little closer to being published.  The hard-working HFMA staff, notably Anna Green in this instance, now have to carefully craft the amendments into something that conveys the messages clearly and simply.

I mention this as we approach our annual conference because many see that event as the representation of what the HFMA does. And yet there are many different people who make the association ‘happen’. Most of the time, it is not high-profile and eye-catching. This is the life of the HFMA: women and men who give up their time to take themselves (mostly) to London to sit in meetings and apply their intellect to help us develop support and guidance. Guidance on governance may seem dry and technical, but it is a vital part of delivering high-quality, safe and cost-effective services. It happens on a regular basis, with hundreds of volunteers making this organisation a very special place. 

Our aim – guided by our expert committees – is to deliver relevant and timely support matched to the needs of our members and their organisations. A perfect example is our new transformation briefing. There is a growing consensus that transformational change is necessary to meet the current challenges. This will involve the redesign of services to better meet the needs of patients and get better value from NHS resources. Our briefing looks to highlight the role for finance within this transformation agenda.

The HFMA is so much more than its events programme. But it cannot be denied that our annual conference at the beginning of December is a key milestone in the NHS finance year, providing a major opportunity for finance professionals to network, learn and share. It also marks the transition between one HFMA president and the next.  I am confident our incoming president, Andy Hardy, will throw himself into the role, despite being the chief executive of a large NHS trust – University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire. 

We have been very fortunate to have been led by Tony Whitfield during 2013. Tony has an enormous amount of energy and enthusiasm for our agenda. He has travelled tirelessly around the country and his theme ‘Knowing the business’ has struck a real chord with everyone. He is now taking on a new challenge, moving from Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust to the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust as director of finance.  We all wish him well and I’d personally like to thank Tony for all his efforts during this year.  It’s been a blast!