The finance department consists of a small team who provide financial support and advice to research and other activities of the institute through planning, management, and control of its business operations. A wide range of activities is undertaken which can be summarised as stewardship, input into the strategic planning process, and transaction processing. There is, in addition, active participation in the institute’s risk assessment procedures.

The department is responsible for putting in place internal control systems that are suitable for the needs of the business and ensuring that these systems, and adherence to them, are reviewed by independent internal audit. The department’s procedures aim to minimise the occurrence of fraud and misappropriation of funds, and the safeguarding of the assets of the institute. In addition, current practices are continually reviewed to improve value for money.

The department works closely with research and support departments to develop strategic financial and operational plans and provides regular updated forecasts to support decision making processes. The finance department is responsible for producing financial accounts, including the annual statutory accounts, which comply with current statutory and regulatory obligations, and also aims to produce accurate, timely and meaningful management information to enable Institute management to monitor performance against budgets.

The department endeavours to ensure that all income due to the institute is recorded and received timeously, and that payments to suppliers are accurately made in accordance with targets and guidelines.