Speaker: ACO Ian Cosh, MA, CPFA, OBE
Chief Finance Officer and SIRO
Greater Manchester Police
How Oracle can help deliver Lean, Efficient and Effective policing : A police CFO's perspective
Assistant Chief Officer (ACO) Ian Cosh OBE started his local government career in 1985 at Lancashire County Council (LCC) and by 1994 he had firmly established himself in a career which revolved around working with blue light services. He has held several leadership roles in Police Finance, including the Treasurer and CFO to Lancashire Police Authority and was instrumental in establishing the Shared Service arrangement between LCC and Lancashire Police which delivered financial services across the 2 organisations. He joined Lancashire Constabulary as Director of Resources in April 2010 with responsibility for all corporate services and moved to GMP as Assistant Chief Officer (ACO) in March 2022.
Ian is the Assistant Chief Officer and Force Senior Information Risk Officer. As the Chief Finance Officer, he has overall responsibility for GMP’s finances also; Information Management covering Information Governance, Evidential Property Management, Disclosure and Barring and Criminal Records unit. He is also the SIRO with overall responsibility for the governance and risk management of the Force’s data and information.
Ian has ensured that the force’s journey from “special measures” to “strongly performing” has been underpinned by strong and sustainable finances. He has been able to sustain investment in improvements, which have delivered improved policing services for Greater Manchester residents. He is a well-respected leader in police finance and has helped to establish the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy’s (CIPFA) Achieving Financial Excellence in Policing programme.
As policing, along with the rest of the public sector, enters a period of financial challenges, Ian is committed to supporting police colleagues to have the skills to deliver sustainable outcomes for our communities. The use of systems and information and how this is harnessed, managed and used to support lean, effective and efficient policing is essential.
The session will provide an understanding of the challenges of leading in a dynamic operational environment
What is essential for good financial leadership
You will also learn how to navigate through major change projects
