The benefits to councils of speeding up your final accounts may seem limited and, perhaps to some, of questionable worth.  Those who take this view, however, are wrong.

Oldham's progress over the past five years – and the quality and speed we are delivering now – is proof of this.

From being in the lowest quartile of public sector organisations in the country just five years ago, Oldham Council's finance team are punching above our weight.  We are now outstripping 40% of FTSE 100 companies, publishing our final audited accounts in just 61 days.

Everyone reading this appreciates the challenges facing local authorities.  Reduced budgets and increased demands on services mean that efficiency is the name of the game or in other words, increased value for money for the council taxpayer.

Central to delivering this is an effective finance and internal audit team.  This backdrop compounded the challenges Oldham already faced.

Submitting our accounts slowly meant we were playing catch-up.  This extra pressure not only caused the team additional stress, but our relationship with external auditors had become strained, too: a ‘perfect storm'.

Addressing this meant changing the way we operated.  The goals were simple: our accounts needed to be submitted quicker and to a higher standard.  It was evident that while it is easy to identify the goals, achieving them may not be such a walk in the park.

Our progress has been due to leadership at all levels, team effort and implementing new strategies.  We adopted the attitude of ‘short-term pain, long-term gain'.

Alongside new project management methods, with early planning and reviewing, clear communication to all stakeholders, staff development and strong teamwork.

One of the most important factors was setting ourselves ambitious targets and ‘front-loading' the workload.  This approach soon began to pay dividends.

Early planning and an ambitious timeline was essential to our success.  It allowed a high portion of the work to be done as soon as possible, but also indicated precisely where we might need to focus attention.

The planning provided the first opportunity to identify any risks or challenges, so that they were dealt with at the outset.  It also enabled work on the accounts to start early in the financial year and – though it may have been initially pressured – meant smoother sailing thereafter.

Getting the ball rolling early allowed for immediate weekly updates and monthly reviews, providing an opportunity to discuss what was going well and what could be done differently with the involvement of the entire team.

It goes without saying that using the knowledge and experience of the team was essential in delivering excellence.

While we automated as much of the workload as possible, there is a vital human element in this success.

Members of the team were matched to specific duties in order to achieve maximum efficiency.  To ensure that each member got the most professional experience out of this as possible, duties were then rotated so that everyone gained new skills.

We wanted to make sure we were supporting our staff as well as training them, so we implemented a ‘buddy system' as a first point of call for any concerns  This approach joined up with early internal audit work, in support of external audit, which was carried out throughout the year.

Alongside the weekly updates and monthly reviews, these early internal audits also meant that other stakeholders within the organisation were kept up-to-date with timely reports allowing for earlier management action.

Another benefit to this more timely working was the early liaison with external audit building a strong rapport and also smoothing any bumps along the way before the final audit commenced.

Above all, our approach has brought about continuous improvement, and has created a ‘virtuous circle' that has meant our performance improves year-on-year.

Oldham's finance and internal audit team are more efficient, effective and more highly valued than ever before.  The robustness of the financial information and advice, as well as the added value we now bring to the organisation, has grown immeasurably.

Our staff are also more motivated, more effective and – though their own hard work – have enhanced their career prospects.

This is a system that I urge all local government organisations to take up.  You'll profit – and we are happy to help if you need advice.

Steven Mair is treasurer of Oldham MBC