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The Public Finance Awards 2024 are open for entries!

The awards feature 16 awards plus a Grand Prix overall winner.

The awards are divided into two sections, categories 1-14 are for public sector organisations and individuals. These are FREE to enter and organisations may enter more than one category. Categories 15 and 16 are ‘Partner Award’ categories and these are available for those commercial organisations whose services and solutions support public sector organisations across public finance and governance. Commercial organisations are also able to enter Category 9.

To enter categories 15 and 16, please enter via the ‘Partner Awards’ pathway on the entry upload system. These categories carry a fee of £195 + VAT (standard rate) per entry.

Here are some tips to help you put together a successful submission. We’ve also made a few changes, so please read!

  1. Please ensure that you read the How to Enter and the Terms and Conditions of Entry sections before completing the relevant category entry form/s. Unless otherwise specified, achievements outlined in the entries should have occurred since April 2022.

  2. Review the entry form carefully and ensure the project you are putting forward is a good fit for the category.

  3. Keep your submission focused and concise – we’ve introduced more questions, but will be looking for shorter responses.

  4. Avoid jargon, especially if it’s specific to your sector or organisation – the judges reviewing your entry will have different professional backgrounds.

  5. Ensure the achievements you tell us about are backed up with evidence of impact.

  6. Do submit supporting material, such as annual reports, press clippings, testimonials, graphics or videos – but make sure these are relevant to your submission.

*Below is information about each category, please use the buttons below to either download the entry forms, enter or contact us.

This award will recognise the finance team (two or more people) working in a council, combined authority or local services that has had the most impact on organisational performance, business partners and/or client groups, and has made an outstanding contribution to building a transparent, innovative, sustainable and collaborative working environment.

This category is open to all councils and combined authorities. Examples of local services include housing, academies, local transport authorities and voluntary bodies. The winner will need to demonstrate proactive professional development within a challenging environment and a step change in outcomes.

Entrants should demonstrate:

  • Strong team-working and how the team is built, maintained and development.
  • Excellent communication, transparency, openness and a commitment to ethical standards
  • The measurable impact of its work on improved public financial management for their organisation

Supporting evidence may include:

  • Organisation charts, HR information, approved business cases for activities, audited company accounts to illustrate financial success, testimonials or press cutting, team staff survey results

This award will recognise the finance team (two or more people) working in frontline services across the UK. Frontline services include health and social care organisations, such as NHS bodies or other public health providers, and fire and police services that have had the most impact on organisational performance, business partners and/or client groups. The team will also have made an outstanding contribution to building a transparent, innovative, sustainable and collaborative working environment. The winner will need to demonstrate proactive professional development within a challenging environment and a step change in outcomes.

Entrants should demonstrate:

  • Strong team-working and how the team is built, maintained and development.
  • Excellent communication, transparency, openness and a commitment to ethical standards
  • The measurable impact of its work on improved public financial management for their organisation

Supporting evidence may include:

  • Organisation charts, HR information, approved business cases for activities, audited company accounts to illustrate financial success, testimonials or press cuttings, team staff survey results

This award will recognise the finance team (two or more people) working in central government or for a national body that has had the most impact on organisational performance, business partners and/or client groups, and has made an outstanding contribution to building a transparent, innovative, sustainable and collaborative working environment.

Examples of national bodies include central government departments, non-departmental public bodies, agencies and charities with a national focus and reach. The winner will need to demonstrate proactive professional development within a challenging environment and a step change in outcomes.

Entrants should demonstrate:

  • Strong team-working and how the team is built, maintained and developed.
  • Excellent communication, transparency, openness and a commitment to ethical standards
  • The measurable impact of its work on improved financial management for their organisation

Supporting evidence may include:

  • Organisation charts, HR information, approved business cases for activities, audited accounts to illustrate financial success, testimonials or press cuttings, team staff survey results.

This award recognises an individual in public finance and/or governance who can demonstrate that they have made an outstanding contribution early on in their career. The judges will be looking for someone who has displayed exceptional abilities and has potential to excel in a leadership role. Entries are restricted to applicants who have a maximum of 10 years experience in their public finance career regardless of age or prior career. Entrants for this award can be nominated or self-nominate.

Supporting evidence may include:

  • Documentary evidence of achievements and testimonials/endorsements

The winner of this award will be able to demonstrate a key contribution to the leadership of their organisation as well as maintaining strong public financial management and/or governance in an organisational context. They will also be able to demonstrate strong team working within the finance team over this period. He or she will be a role model to others, demonstrating fresh thinking in how to deliver efficient and effective services in a time of crisis. Nominees in this category are unlikely to have less than 10 years experience in a senior role.

Entrants should demonstrate:

  • Excellence in financial management and leadership – of people, ideas or projects
  • How innovative performance and work has increased the impact and influence of public finance/governance in a wider organisational context and delivered exceptional results
  • A commitment to ethical and sustainable practice that has been embedded in teams and the organisation.

Supporting evidence may include:

  • Documentary evidence of achievements in introducing new ways of working (including support to enable the delivery of frontline services), achieving efficiencies, improving effectiveness, increasing performance and/or providing competitive advantage for the organisation, audited accounts to illustrate your financial success, testimonials or press cuttings.

The public and stakeholders need to trust in the services provided by the public sector – good decision making is key to this, as is a commitment to transparency over that decision making through robust governance, reporting and assurance processes.

This award will be presented to an individual or team that has demonstrated a commitment to this approach through, for example:

  • Developing a governance initiative/project demonstrating high accountability standards, strong oversight, risk awareness and a commitment to ethics alongside improved outcomes and impact.
  • Delivering high quality, accessible and meaningful financial reporting that, in the opinion of the judges, demonstrates the clearest link between organisational strategy, performance monitoring and management.

The individual or team will have demonstrated a commitment to acting in the public interest and strong ethical practice and/or will have had a measurable impact on the community, promoting stakeholder engagement and transparency.

Supporting evidence may include:

  • Reports demonstrating success, internal or external testimonials or press cuttings.
  • Audited accounts or annual report
  • Internal report to committee or board describing governance developments.

This award will go to a team or organisation that has delivered outstanding value for money and social value outcomes in procurement. They will have demonstrated high levels of technical and professional excellence, and created transferable benefits. Judges will be looking for examples that are highly innovative, generate cost savings, broader organisational benefits, support social value outcomes and capture learning that will influence progress in future procurement projects.

Entrants should demonstrate:

  • Evidence of measurable results and benefits
  • How initiatives and projects achieved more responsive ways of delivering services and/ or better outcomes
  • A management approach that has worked towards a definition of social value in the context of procurement, and builds towards successful measurement of social value outcomes

Supporting evidence may include:

  • Business cases/plan, tender or RFP documents, illustrations of financial savings without cuts to services, reports demonstrating success, testimonials or press cuttings, names and details of new supplier/s and arrangements.

This award will be presented to an individual or team that has demonstrated an outstanding and innovative approach to fraud prevention, detection and/or recovery. Entrants should demonstrate understanding of fraud risks and leakages and how action taken resulted in measurable improvements, ongoing benefits to the organisation and/or to users or clients.

Supporting evidence may include:

  • Illustrations of success, testimonials or press cuttings.
  • Internal reports, committee or board papers

The winner in this category will be an individual, team or organisation that demonstrates excellence in public sector internal or external audit.  As well as outstanding levels of technical expertise entrants should demonstrate how they have improved assurance in challenging circumstances (including organisational processes, systems and policies and audit outcomes), or developed greater transparency and strengthened accountability.

Supporting evidence may include:

  • Illustrations of success, testimonials or press cuttings.

* This category can be entered by public sector organisations as well as commercial organisations whose services and solutions support the public sector across public finance and governance. For commercial organisations entering this category please note that you will need to enter via the ‘Partner Awards’ on the entry upload system and this carries a fee of £195 + VAT (standard rate).

Public finance professionals need to think strategically about their investments and asset management for the long term, while balancing short-term challenges. This award will recognise the achievement of an individual or organisation that has delivered innovation and excellence in the field of strategic investment and/or asset management. They will have added strategic and financial value to medium or long term organisational planning, and ensured that asset management contributes to effective balance sheet management. The winner will demonstrate the ability to work highly effectively and accessibly across organisations.

Entrants should demonstrate:

  • Effective and accessible asset management performance and risk reporting to the organisation
  • Excellence in managing or directing strategic investment for the benefit of the organisation and its stakeholders.
  • Evidence of working effectively with cross-organisation stakeholders to influence success of the business.

Supporting evidence may include:

  • Documented illustrations of success, financial reports

This award recognises those organisations or projects that have shown particular impact through sustainability initiatives.

The award will go to the team or project that has, through environmental, social and governance (ESG), sustainability or green initiatives, demonstrated real results for the communities they serve – with particular attention being given to those that have demonstrated real social value, a positive impact on the local community and/or strong community engagement.

Entrants should demonstrate:

  • Original, innovative and bespoke approaches to sustainability and social value
  • Evidence of structure and approach
  • Details of how they engaged the local community/local groups throughout.
  • The outcomes and results
  • Ongoing efforts to collaborate with citizens and communities – to deliver increased value.

Supporting evidence may include:

  • Stakeholder engagement plans, press releases, videos, social media activity, testimonials from citizens, local press reports, peer reviews.

This is an individual award. The winning individual will demonstrate excellence in their approach to promoting and improving diversity and inclusion in public finance and leadership. They will have convincingly utilised recruitment, employee engagement, organisational development or learning and development strategies to promote diversity and inclusion in the finance function and can show demonstrable improvements in the capability and capacity of the finance team or the organisation on public financial management. As well as this improvement the judges will be looking for a commitment to lifelong learning and a diverse and inclusive workplace, and improved access to training and development at all levels.

Entrants should demonstrate:

  • How the individual acts as a role model and driver of improved diversity and inclusion
  • How they utilise organisational tools such as recruitment, culture or learning and development to deliver benefits to the organisation while fostering an equitable, diverse and inclusive culture

Supporting evidence may include:

  • Recruitment and onboarding plans, personal development plans, training plans or programmes, HR reports, illustrations of success, testimonials or press cuttings, names of any training providers, details of any technology used.

This award recognises digital projects, initiatives or programmes that demonstrate outstanding and innovative approaches to improving efficiency, significant improvements in outcomes, and process achievements in areas such as payments, supply chain management, procurement and resource allocation. Judges will also be looking for strong evidence of improved customer experience, and speed and accuracy in decision-making.

Supporting evidence may include:

  • Documentary support/illustrations for the digital project, its results and impact.
  • Details of any technology, software, suppliers employed.
  • Any links, files, examples of the digitisation initiative in action
  • Any stakeholder feedback demonstrating the improvement in outcomes.

Delivering real impact and change in local services requires teams and organisations to think differently and embrace innovation and collaboration. This award recognises those organisations or projects that have demonstrated impact in this way by collaborating across organisational boundaries.

The award will go to the team or project that is successfully collaborating to more closely integrate or align the planning, commissioning and/or delivery of place-based services and sharing resources with the aim of delivering real improvements for citizens and communities and overcoming organisational barriers and silos.

Entrants should demonstrate:

  • Original, innovative and bespoke approaches to service alignment
  • Evidence of structure and approach as well as governance and finance mechanisms
  • The outcomes and results
  • Ongoing efforts to align services and deliver increased value.
  • Entries are particularly welcome from organisations working across health and social care.

Supporting evidence may include:

  • Internal and external plans and reports, press activity, citizen feedback, peer reviews.

The Solutions Partners awards will recognise commercial organisations that have made an outstanding contribution by partnering with public sector bodies. They will be able to demonstrate the transformative and innovative impact their teams have had on public services, and their ability to understand, to reach and exceed their clients’ goals.

This award is for solutions that have focused on transforming people and culture in the relevant organisations, whether for HR or People functions or business or project teams.

Winners will be selected from the following categories, please select the appropriate category below.

  • Audit & Accountability
  • Finance
  • HR
  • Risk

Supporting evidence can include:

  • Client testimonials,
  • Illustrations of success including examples of project or service KPIs, reports, financial statements or press cuttings.

*Date range for all case studies and examples is 1 January 2022 – 1 January 2024

*To enter this category please note that you will need to enter via the ‘Partner Awards’ on the entry upload system and this carries a fee of £195 + VAT (standard rate).

The Solutions Partners awards will recognise commercial organisations that have made an outstanding contribution by partnering with public sector bodies. They will be able to demonstrate the transformative and innovative impact their teams have had on public services, and their ability to understand, to reach and exceed their clients’ goals.

This award is for solutions that have focused on digital, software and systems solutions. While acknowledging that they often go hand in hand, there is another awards category for solutions that have primarily involved transformation across people and culture.

Winners will be selected from the following categories, please select the appropriate category below.

  • Audit & Accountability
  • Finance
  • HR
  • Software and Systems

Supporting evidence can include:

  • Client testimonials,
  • Illustrations of success including examples of project or service KPIs, reports, financial statements or press cuttings.

*Date range for all case studies and examples is 1 January 2022 – 1 January 2024

*To enter this category please note that you will need to enter via the ‘Partner Awards’ on the entry upload system and this carries a fee of £195 + VAT (standard rate).