Hillingdon Council has launched a Financial Modernisation Programme (FMP), a significant transformation initiative
designed to overhaul its financial systems, processes, and structures to address budget challenges and modernise the Council's financial infrastructure.
The Audit Committee received an update on the FMP at their meeting on Thursday 24 July 2025. According to the Public Reports Pack, the council appointed Grant Thornton in April 2025 to support the programme.
The FMP aims to:
- Modernise the council's financial processes
- Strengthen financial management
- Develop a modern finance function
- Embed processes and controls in the council's financial system, Oracle.
The FMP is closely aligned with the council's wider Governance Review Implementation Plan (GRIP), which was also discussed at the Audit Committee meeting. The GRIP addresses key governance weaknesses identified in several reviews, including the CIPFA review (March 2025), Directorate Governance Internal Audit (September 2025) and the Provisional Audit Results Report (February 2025). The GRIP is structured around three workstreams: financial governance, directorate governance, and constitutional/democratic governance. It is described as Hillingdon Council's strategic response to identified governance areas for improvement. It aims to strengthen internal controls, clarify internal decision-making, and improve accountability - ensuring the Council is well-governed corporately, financially resilient, and transparent.
The Agenda Frontsheet for the meeting indicates that relevant officers, along with a representative from Grant Thornton, provided an update on the programme's progress. The Financial Modernisation Programme aims to develop a modern finance function and embed processes and controls in the council's financial system, Oracle.
The Audit Committee is scheduled to review the programme's progress and provide comments to officers. Future meeting dates were set for 28 August 2025, 18 November 2025, 10 February 2026 and 28 May 2026.
