2021 Judges

Andrew Burns is an Associate Director at CIPFA where his role is to further develop strong links between CIPFA and the local government sector, building trust to improve public financial management and governance.

He was CIPFA President in 2017/18 serving an Institute with over 14,000 members worldwide who work throughout the public services, in national audit agencies, in major accountancy firms and in other public bodies where public money needs to be effectively and efficiently managed.
Until December 2018, he spent 12 years as Director of Finance and Resources for Staffordshire County Council; was Treasurer of the Staffordshire Pension Fund and a former President of the Society of County Treasurers.

He is also a trustee of the Centre for Governance and Scrutiny (CfGS) the leading national organisation promoting and supporting excellence in governance and scrutiny across public services.

Tony Crawley is the Chief Executive of Public Sector Audit Appointments Ltd, the appointing person for local government bodies that opt into its audit procurement scheme. Tony is Past President of CIPFA in the Midlands, and qualified as a chartered public accountant in 1994. From 1990 to 2012 he worked for District Audit, the delivery arm of the Audit Commission, and in that time worked on secondment to CIPFA, the Audit Commission and the National Fraud Initiative. He became a District Auditor in the East Midlands in 2009, and transferred to KPMG LLP in 2012 where he was Director specialising in local government and NHS external audits. He joined PSAA in October 2018.

Pete has over 35 years’ experience in public sector finance and leadership, having held Chief Finance Officer, Resources Director and Head of Paid Service roles. A CIPFA qualified accountant, he has been Chief Finance Officer at three local authorities and two police forces. During this time he has become renowned for both service transformation and for implementing alternative service delivery models, including innovative partnerships with the private sector.

His current portfolio at Surrey and Sussex police forces includes Financial Services, Procurement, Estates/Facilities and Fleet Services. He is also the SRO for the Police National Commercial Board, and chairs the Police and Fire Panel for the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, which also provides governance/oversight of the Achieving Finance Excellence in Policing (AFEP) programme.

Sarah is immediate Past President of CIPFA and retired senior partner with Grant Thornton, having led the firm’s public services team for many years and most recently served on its Strategic Leadership Team.  Sarah continues to keep an active interest in the future of local public audit and inspiring the next generation of public finance professionals. Originally from Yorkshire, Sarah now loves living on the Northumberland coast, enjoying passions outside of work including exploring Victorian art and architecture.

Manj Kalar, founder and principal consultant at Kalar Consulting Ltd, is an independent public sector finance professional accountant with over 25 years’ experience gained across the public and private sector.

She advises several countries on implementing accrual accounting. By using her extensive UK central government experience of implementing accrual accounting including both government income (taxes) and expenditure Manj works with partners, she focuses on the local context to address the practical challenges.

An excellent all-rounder, Manj has also delivered several highly engaging UK and international conferences on public finance issues and the UN Sustainable Development Goals for the European Court of Auditors (ECA). She has authored several public finance publications, articles and ghost written for Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs).

At CIPFA, Manj was the technical manager for central government and financial management and then global head of Public Sector at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). To support effective knowledge transfer leading to self-sufficiency, Manj delivers accounting training and regular CPD updates. She is passionate that the public sector to reflect the public it serves. She is a mentor and coach to CIPFA trainees and other national and international public finance professionals. To delivering greater transparency and accountability, Manj urges her finance colleagues to better address needs of the user of public financial statements.

Abdool Kara is an Executive Director at the National Audit Office, where he started in February 2017. He is responsible for the NAO’s local services financial audit and value for money portfolio shadowing the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Department of Health and Social Care, and the Department for Education, as well as leading on its People function.

Prior to joining the NAO Abdool had 25 years’ experience in the local government sector, including working for four different councils up to and including chief executive level, and seven years at the Audit Commission on both value for money and inspection. He also had a stint at the Cabinet Office advising on public service improvement.

He is currently a strategic advisor to the Welsh Centre for Public Policy.

Alston Owens, Managing Consultant, at for GB Partnerships Consult – a specialist consultancy working across the country supporting Healthcare Providers, Councils, NHS Property Services to make improvements to their Estate

Alston is a finance professional by background with over 15 years of experience working in healthcare across both commissioning and provider organisations throughout the country. He has a broad skillset covering many aspects of healthcare advisory – including Cost Improvement Programmes, Financial Modelling, Service Reviews, Business Case Development and Corporate Governance.

Caroline has been a member of CIPFA for over 30 years and has held senior and Board level roles in Local Government and the NHS including as a CEO. Caroline spent 5 years working for the Department of Health in two arms length property companies as Director of Finance and Deputy CEO. Caroline has now moved into the third sector and is currently a Director at a national charity – Versus Arthritis as well as being a trustee of her local hospice and board member of Active Essex. Caroline is an avid park runner.

Michael has been working in public policy, financial management and reporting for much of his career: at the Audit Commission, CIPFA, an academic in China, and for the last 8 years at HM Treasury. He is currently Deputy Director Government Financial Reporting and is responsible for the accounting and budgeting frameworks in central government and producing Whole of Government Accounts. Prior to that he was Head of EU Budget Withdrawal, negotiating the financial settlement for the UK’s departure from the European Union.

Gemma Tetlow is Chief Economist at the Institute for Government. The institute aims to improve the effectiveness of government through providing rigorous research and analysis, topical commentary and offering a space for discussion and fresh thinking. Gemma joined the organisation in April 2018 and works across the institute’s programme areas. Between 2016 and 2018, Gemma was Economics Correspondent at the Financial Times, reporting on and analysing economic developments in the UK and globally. Before that, Gemma led the Institute for Fiscal Studies’ work on public finances and pensions. Gemma has a PhD in economics from University College London.

Carolyn is Chief Executive of Oldham Council and Accountable Officer at NHS Oldham CCG. She undertakes a number of roles in Greater Manchester. She has also been Director of Contain, NHS Test & Trace since August 2020. Carolyn is also a Trustee at the King’s Fund and a Fellow at University of Birmingham Institute of Leadership.

After qualifying as an accountant in 2012, Hamza moved to the private sector to work as a management consultant later returning to public service with senior roles in Local Government and the Greater London Authority. Hamza joined the Department of Communities and Local Government and the civil service in 2016 to lead the Department’s fiscal strategy and negotiations with HMT. In 2018 Hamza joined the Ministry of Justice and was promoted to Deputy Director at the Legal Aid Agency in 2019. Outside of work, Hamza is a proud husband and father. He is chair of the MoJ Parents Network and shares a passion for equality, diversity and inclusion.