Finance and Assurance Workshop | In-Person

02 July 2025

09:45–13:00

Institute of Public Administration

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As recipients of public money, modern state bodies and public bodies are expected to have strong and effective financial management, financial controls and financial reporting processes in place, which provide, inter alia, for timely and relevant information flows internally and for key stakeholders as well as timely and accurate public reporting on financial performance for the financial year (through the financial statements) with accompanying governance and assurance statements.

The objective of this interactive in-person training event is to enhance participants' understanding of good financial management arrangements, including key processes, reporting requirements, and the provision of reliable and relevant information. The session aims to provide individuals in key governing and leadership positions with the base knowledge, understanding, tools and capabilities to support them in effectively carrying out their roles. This will be particularly useful for Board/Committee members and senior executives and officials who do not have a formal financial background but will also be useful as a refresher session and for those with a financial background but who are new to the public sector or public financial management system.

The areas to be addressed in the session will include:

This will be an interactive session, supported by presentation material and the use of practical case studies and illustrative examples.

The session will take place at the Institute of Public Administraiton HQ and will be delivered by Dr Tom Ward, Senior Governance Specialist and Aidan Horan, Senior Associate IPA.

Speakers

Aidan Horan

Aidan Horan is a Senior Associate in Governance at the IPA. He was previously Director at the IPA with overall responsibility for governance, assurance and related services. A qualified accountant, he led the governance specialist team and was the founder member of the Governance Forum at the IPA. 

Aidan is a Director at the Glencree Centre for Peace & Reconcilliation has also been nominated to a number of non-executive roles over the years including as Audit Committee Chairperson, Department of Finance and Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. He is also a member of the Public Financial Management Board and the Sustainability Panel at the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy [CIPFA] (UK).

Dr Tom Ward

Tom is a Senior Governance Specialist in the IPA Governance Team, and re-joined the Institute in May 2017 having previously been a member of staff between 2006 and 2011. He manages the Governance Forum and works on a range of governance assignments for clients, including board effectiveness reviews and governance reviews, strategy development, and delivering training and workshop sessions on governance matters for boards and senior teams. He has worked with a wide range of organisations, including government departments, state agencies, local authorities, higher education institutions, and sport, community and charitable organisations.

Prior to re-joining the IPA in 2017, Tom was a Senior Manager and Consultant at Crowe, managing and delivering a range of assignments in the areas of governance, organisational design, and strategy. Prior to this, he held senior strategy and governance roles at the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA). Tom started his career as a Parliamentary Assistant in the Houses of the Oireachtas.

Tom is currently a non-executive member of the Audit & Risk Committee of the Electoral Commission and previously served two terms as ARC member at the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (2017-2023). He was also previously a non-executive Director and Vice-Chair of Badminton Ireland (2017-2022), the national governing body for the sport, where he chaired its Governance Committee and was a member of the High Performance Committee.

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