Transferable skills are assuming huge importance in the recruitment of accountants into the public services sector. Should you decide that you want to switch from commerce and industry to working in the not-for-profit sector, then your skills will be put to the test.
"One of the main reasons for more movement between sectors is that the public services has become a more attractive career option," declares Steve Freer, chief executive of CIPFA. "More people would like to be part of modernising the NHS, sorting out transport infrastructure, transforming schools. These are big, exciting challenges which get people out of bed in the morning."
Public services employers are focusing on transferable skills to bolster resources of talent coming through the ranks and encourage trainees to see themselves as future finance directors. NHS expansion and the development of Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) have created more senior finance posts than at any time.
Opportunities are rife but there are not enough high calibre professionals to fill the available finance director posts -mergers, changes of focus and cost reduction exercises have left many people disillusioned and inclined to leave when options present themselves."
Graduates are being trained up in the NHS as a long-term goal but existing staff with potential also need to be identified.
The next change on the horizon for the NHS is the advent of foundation trusts, involving major change in the financial regimes of a significant proportion of the NHS. Every acute trust aims to gain foundation status by 2008 – becoming far more commercially driven.
Although trusts came into existence in 1991, but there has been a marked change of focus since the current administration came into power in 1997. Foundation Trusts will have new accountability arrangements and a radically altered financial regime.
NHS Trusts have tended to focus on the bottom line but these new organiations will place equal, if not, more emphasis on issues such as cashflow, strength of the balance sheet and funding - hence the importance of comprehensive skills sets.
The NHS's transferable skills scheme has two key objectives:
This can only be a positive. "Public services employers must be more confident in themselves as employers of choice and they need to be able to hold their own and not be afraid of exposing themselves to competition," says Andy Robling, director of Hays Accountancy & Finance's public services division.
The importance of finance directors cannot be underestimated either. "Many finance directors are the most senior person after the chief executive," continues Andy Robling. "In fact, chief executive is often viewed as the logical next step for finance directors in the public services."
The qualities sought by today's public services:
''Accountants have a range of core skills that are relevant to all organisations," says Steve Freer of CIPFA. "But what matters is how you use them. Understanding the organisation - how it ticks and how it makes decisions - is critical. Public services organisations are often large and complex. The people that really prosper are those not fazed by the scale - they enjoy it and get a buzz from making things happen.
A 'can do' attitude is also imperative. "In large organisations, public or private, there's always an option to pass the buck, fudge a decision or find obstacles. Successful operators look for solutions, not problems," continues Steve Freer.
To be a successful finance director, you must share and believe in public service values. A desire to work in and influence a changing environment is also crucial as is adaptability to changing needs. Overseeing change is often a big part of the job - as an executive director, you're required to work more corporately and generally have a greater grasp of NHS issues.