Guide to Expenditure Monitoring Questions on Corporate Finance in the Public Sector

The National Audit Office has published a guide to good practice on the use of corporate finance in the public sector.

The Spending Constable said: “Corporate finance is a complex and specialized subject. We have examined the financial transactions of companies and the organizations that have carried them out for more than 35 years. Senior leaders must consider many factors to ensure that public bodies manage the risks and rewards to taxpayers when using corporate finance techniques.

He noted that the government and public sector had used corporate finance techniques to support and implement a range of policy objectives and interventions, and that this was “particularly true of the government’s response to the crisis. global finance and the COVID-19 pandemic”.

The guide uses insights from the NAO’s stakeholder engagement and draws on its in-house expertise gained over years of auditing government interventions and corporate finance activities. It covers 14 themes spread over three main areas:

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• Principles and notions
• Organizations and functions
• Transactions

The interactive guide also contains information from 139 NAO reports and sets out key questions for senior decision-makers to consider when overseeing corporate finance activities.

“It will also be of interest to professionals who support the government to carry out a range of transactions, including commercial investments, loans and guarantees,” the NAO said.