In May 2015 the Public Accounts Committee published its Report into the financial costs and benefits of a sample of major claimed savings within the Financial Transformation Programme (FTP).
The PAC acknowledged KPMG’s finding that the savings were largely validated and the chosen Consultant (Capita) was correctly remunerated for the work undertaken. However, it was concerned that KPMG could find no evidence that the relevant financial rules, necessary to determine how savings should be calculated, were fully documented at the start of the FTP. The uncertainty that this caused resulted in the size and nature of the approved savings being potentially open to question.
The PAC was pleased to note that KPMG did acknowledge a number of examples of good practice; most notably the SSD’s Claims Management project. However, evidence of truly transformational change within government was limited. Also of concern were KPMG’s comments on the need for ongoing monitoring. Unless that is done it will not be possible to be certain that the savings banked to date are truly sustainable.
The report from KPMG presented an independent financial analysis of the major projects within the FTP process. The findings confirmed that significant savings had been made but the lack of clarity, caused by the absence of clearly defined and communicated financial rules until late into the Programme, wa and remains a significant concern for the Public Accounts Committee. In addition, the findings raised fundamental questions around the level of genuine transformation that has been achieved.
Links to the reports below. The KPMG report is quite technical and very comprehensive. The PAC covering report is more accessible for those with a non-accounting background.