Services

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Successful projects need effective project management and delivery.  We can help you to:

• put in place project oversight mechanisms;
• develop your project plans; 
• draft your planning documents; 
• train key staff who will be involved in the project;
• identify potential risks and how to mitigate them;
• identify key stakeholders and how to engage with them; 
• develop your communication strategy; and
• manage the overall project. 

Policy and Advocacy activities are important in building profile, reputation and influence. With our expertise in policy and technical communications, we can help you to: 

• develop policy and thought leadership publications on important topics; 
• draft technical guidance for your members;
• prepare responses to stakeholder consultations;
• lobby key stakeholders on issues that are key to your business; and
• draft articles and press releases on important issues.

The business of managing a government is much more complex than managing a company.  Governments need to think about their overall public financial management (PFM) structures and frameworks.  PFM  is not only about governments moving from cash to accruals accounting, you also  need to have appropriate  structures in place. We can help you to: 

• identify the gaps in the overall governance structures within your government;
• put into place frameworks to strengthen PFM (accountability, transparency, governance, ethics);
• advocate for the professionalisation of specific roles (such as finance functions and finance teams); 
• strengthen the strategic financial leadership within your government; and
• develop/improve corporate governance arrangements, including the role of audit committees.

The audit of financial statements in the public sector is just as important as in the private sector. The public sector does not operate to generate profits, but audit is important to build confidence and trust in a country's public finances. 

Public audit plays an important part in safeguarding public money and for confirming that those responsible for handling public money are held accountable for its use. In addition to the audit of financial statements, there can be legislative requirements for reports as well as other requests for external scrutiny over how public money is spent.  We can help you to:

• develop structures  for the procurement, contract management, regulation, and oversight of public sector audit and auditors; and
• develop frameworks which use tailored approaches to carry out public audit (using either International Auditing Standards (ISAs) or State Audit Institution Standards (SAIs)).

 As a public sector organisation, you often need to build confidence in other aspects of your business such as systems, data, processes, or information. You may also require confidence in third party organisations that you do business with or provide funds to, for specific purposes. For this purpose, you may require an independent report to provide the assurance. We can help you: 

• to facilitate discussions with key parties to understand the purpose  of your requirements for assurance;
• to understand the scope of the work and consider what is possible for independent accountants to provide within international assurance standards; and
• by drafting assurance frameworks on your behalf, liaising with key stakeholders as appropriate to obtain buy-in from all parties.

When carrying out business (whether it be in the public, private or voluntary sectors), it is important to engage with the right stakeholders and have the right conversations. We can help you to:

• identify the key stakeholders that are important to the discussion and develop your stakeholder engagement plan;
• organise and develop your engagement, workshop and/or event, providing you with an end to end service;
• develop and set the agenda for the discussions;
• provide briefs for the key participants; 
• facilitate the discussions with the stakeholders; and
• help you to develop your outcomes from the event (whether it be an action plan, a report or other form of communications).

Separately, we can help you to create specific and tailored briefings for and engagement with government ministers, senior civil servants and key stakeholders.

It is important when running conferences and training events, to have the right speakers / trainers. We can speak/train on a range of topics including:

• public financial management structures (including accountability, transparency, governance and ethics);
• strengthening strategic financial leadership in the public sector;
• the role of professional accountancy bodies in supporting the public sector;
• a range of audit and assurance topics;
• developing regulatory frameworks for audit and assurance;
• corporate governance and the role of audit committees; and
• many other topics - please ask. 

Continued engagement with your audience is a key part of business. We can help you to:

• develop an online and/or hard-copy newsletter or journal (in an editorial role);
• develop and plan the relevant and topical content;
• write or source authors and/or articles for the newsletter/journal;
• collate and edit articles and other content; and
• work with designers or online web teams to publish on a timely basis. 

The number of relationships in the business and commercial world means that it’s easy for misunderstandings to occur that affect the scope and quality of your relationships – with staff, with partners, with clients and with suppliers.  Conflicts usually arise because of serious breakdowns in communication.  We can help you resolve civil and commercial and workplace conflicts through a mediation process. The process can help both parties to:

• clarify and focus on the important issues;
• discuss the possible solutions;
• separate personalities from the problem;
• examine the consequences of not settling; and
• negotiate and reach a settlement.

Sumita is registered for both Civil and Commercial and Workplace Mediation with the ADR Group Ltd and is an Associate Member of the Civil Mediation Council. 

See our separate page for more information. 

Our mental health and well-being has never been more important than it is right now. Mental ill-health is not easy to talk about - there is a stigma around discussing it. Our mental well-being and that of our family, friends and colleagues is something that we all need to consider just as much as we consider our physical health and well-being. We can help you with this. Our  training provides a framework approach to supporting people: 

• from recognising signs and triggers, 
• to approaching and assessing, 
• listening non-judgementally, 
• giving information and support, and 
• encouraging appropriate professional and other help. 

Sumita is a Mental Health Instructor and a Mental Health First Aider with Mental Health First Aid England (MHFA)

See our separate page for more information.