MERTHYR TYDFIL Council’s new head of finance is set to be officially appointed as the council’s section 151 officer.
At a meeting on Wednesday, January 17, councillors will be asked to approve the appointment of Liam Hull as the section 151 officer.
Following the departure of the previous head of finance and section 151 officer Steve Jones, Liam Hull accepted the offer to undertake the responsibilities and duties of the council’s head of finance from November 6, 2023.
The appointment of the section 151 officer is a function of the council and so, in order to confirm the head of finance as section 151 officer, council will need to make the appointment.
The main roles of a section 151 officer include working with the chief executive, deputy chief executive, directors and other officers on strategic and financial management of the council, the coordination of council-wide initiatives and projects, to develop cross service policies, financial planning and control systems, and to take overall responsibility for the direction and performance of the services for which they are responsible.
Their role also includes being responsible for the IT functions of the council, to perform statutory duties and be responsible for the revenues, benefits and customer services of the council.
The main roles of the chief finance officer include ensuring lawfulness and financial prudence of decision making, the administration of financial affairs, contributing to corporate management, providing advice, giving financial information, and advising whether decisions of the cabinet are within the budget and policy framework.
The chief finance officer cannot be the monitoring officer or the head of democratic services and must be a member of one or more of these bodies:
- the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
- the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants
- the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy
- the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
- Or any other body of accountants established in the United Kingdom and for
the time being approved by the Welsh ministers for this purpose.
