The cost of failure in financial management and governance

30 January 2025

  • The cost of failure in governance and financial management is not only significant in terms of the cost of consultancy and legal services, but also in thousands of hours of time from many different public bodies when responding to the underlying issues.

    But the biggest detrimental impact comes from how these issues can deflect an organisation from their core objectives and services to the public.

    As financial and human resources become stretched, the risk of governance and/or other service failings increases. This is not just about systems and processes; it is also about behaviours and the importance of demonstrating a clear commitment to the Nolan principles of Selflessness, Integrity, Objectivity, Accountability, Openness, Honesty, and Leadership.

    Every time the public see the kind of behavioural and governance failures that Audit Wales have reported on, trust in those leading our public services is damaged. That in turn makes it harder to win public support where more radical changes need to be made.

    Presentation

    Title Size Link
    Lessons from failure 156.57 KB Link
    So, how do we get governance right? 484.13 KB Link
    How do we get governance right - North slides 417.31 KB Link
    Policy failure and implementation-minded policy making 603.42 KB Link
    Can you afford to miss the opportunities that great risk management provides? 1.85 MB Link