Interim Management Case Study
Alf Oldman at Office of National Statistics (ONS)
 

Central and local government are established users of interim managers in the IT and project/programme related areas. However, it is expected that there will be an increasing demand for top class interim finance directors/ Chief Financial Officers (CFO) across government, provided they have proven change management credentials and the ability to function effectively from day one. This is in response to the increasing financial pressures for results and changing guidelines from the Treasury and the Office of Government Commerce (OGC). There is a programme to seriously upgrade financial management expertise across government.

During the last quarter of 2004, ONS became aware of the need to upgrade its financial leadership. There were a number of events that were manageable individually but collectively required a very special set of skills. ONS is the UK's national statistical institute, reporting to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with 5,500 employees, producing many of the official statistics which inform key decisions & policies of government, e.g. the National Accounts, Retail Price Index and Census. ONS also provides the registration service for England & Wales for births, deaths & marriages. The context included:

Following the arrival of a new Chief Operating Officer in November 2004, an early decision was to strengthen the Finance team in a critical period of change. Based upon her previous experience of similar situations across government, the Chief Operating Officer decided to recruit an Interim Chief Financial Officer, as a matter of priority. In line with OGC procurement guidelines, a number of intermediaries were invited to produce candidates, resulting in Dr Alf Oldman being appointed Interim Chief Financial Officer in January 2005.

Alf, a Chartered Accountant and transition management specialist, was able to offer an unusual blend of experience, both in the public sector (UNESCO, Remploy) and leading private sector organisations, plus an exceptionally strong track record in implementing change, with expertise in large IT programmes. Apart from meeting all his personal deliverables in the seven month assignment, Alf provided his permanent successor with a route map forward. The different stakeholders all regarded the interim CFO role as a major success, during a particularly challenging period of change.