• Complex and disparate systems
• Heavy reliance on paper documents
• Cross departmental data entry
• Errors leading to duplicate payments
• Labour intensive manual checking/processing
• Expensive use of recovery auditors

Potential Solutions

• Adoption of Shared Service Centres
• Automation of invoice and accounting processing
• Automated invoice reconciliation functions
• Automated Duplicate Payment Software

By adopting the use of inter-departmental Shared Service Centres (SSCs) and further automated technology, many public sector bodies hoped that they would be able to reach the Government targeted savings by the end of 2008, while providing lasting departmental efficiency.

Success Gained, but some Opportunities Missed
Despite the obstacles which lay in the path of achieving success, the Gershon Review achieved its targets, and the latest calculations show a saving of £23bn.  However, while this is indeed something to celebrate, the success story masks some of the realities.

In the first instance, the drive for change met with a mixed reaction.  In an area already weary with the implementation of new procedures and ways to squeeze resources – at first glance this had the appearance of yet another ruse.  More importantly however, the inconsistencies between Government rhetoric and the reality sometimes generated a stalemate.  How can a local authority improve services and invest in new IT functionality when already lean funding structures become reduced even further?

This has meant that the resulting change so far has been sporadic. However, given the savings already made by this approach, it would appear that more impetus had been placed behind the Gershon Review, it could have achieved astounding results.

Gershon II and The Road to 2010
Under Gershon II, government bodies are looking at making a saving of £5bn over the next year.  Given that there remains little excess to trim, savings from now on will have to be more creative and achieved through a through analysis of existing systems.  However, perhaps the most difficult obstacle to overcome seems to be cultural rather than technical.  Government bodies operate in vastly disparate ways and many want to continue to maintain that autonomy.  Therefore they are resistant to giving up any element of control or self-determination.  In part this is due to a misunderstanding of automation and what SSCs are and how they can help. Where there is an element of ignorance – a culture of suspicion and resistance is likely to grow.  In addition, attempting to forge on with a one size fits all approach to SSCs simply will not work in organisations as different and multi-functional as the NHS or local authorities. A more flexible solution will have to be found, where an overarching set of procedures for the NHS as a whole can then filter down at the next level to allow for a series autonomous solutions where required.  The key will be transparency and a clear audit trail.

So How to Continue?
The Government needs to get behind the shared service solution and to promote it as something to be welcomed, not feared. Further training and education of the different types of SSCs and automation functions, needs to be given, together with an indication of what can be achieved by their adoption.  Instilling a sense of responsibility and implementing accountability measures take time, but it is also important for Gershon II to focus on an as yet untapped area of improvement.  Looking even further ahead, E-procurement is perhaps the next biggest hurdle. This is a fully integrated system that feeds into financial analytics. The key here is that while savings can be made through an integrated system, the processes that have to be re-worked to ensure the system works efficiently will create clearer lines of responsibility and therefore increase accountability and efficiency.

Within this, the most important aspect is not to lose sight of the overriding aim – better, faster, more efficient service to the public without any unnecessary expenditure.


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