Report

Present tense

This report from UK think tank Localis assesses the current state of local government financial governance and sustainability to ask what the case for reform might be.

In English local government, the ‘golden triangle ‘of chief executive, monitoring officer and chief finance officer – who exercise their leadership responsibilities to own and champion good governance and effective financial management in local government – is a well-established model. Beyond the functional corporate responsibilities, the culture for ensuring financial sustainability across local government requires the constant vigilance of strong governance and effective scrutiny.

Present Tense looks to assess the current state of local government financial governance and sustainability to ask what the case for reform might be. The overall narrative for this pamphlet is derived from a series of expert roundtables and research interviews conducted with leading stakeholders from across the world of local government, audit, and scrutiny. The research scope included a focus on examining systemic governance issues, understanding the implications of austerity, and exploring necessary reforms for both financial resilience and transparency.

The pamphlet concludes with a set of recommendations to central and local government for renewing and reforming local financial governance towards long-term resilience and sustainability.