Metropolitan Police Authority appoints new Director of Finance Services

13/03
18 February 2003

Sharon Burd has been appointed as the Metropolitan Police Service’s new Director of Finance Services, the first woman to be appointed to this post. She will lead a team of 200 staff and manage the Met’s £2.2 bn budget.

Commenting on her appointment, Mrs. Burd said:

“I am excited about joining the Met at a time when the organisation is facing such challenging growth. I look forward to working in such a huge and prestigious organisation and am committed to using my police and local government experience to make a difference in the way that Finance Services supports front line policing. I relish the challenges ahead”.

Mrs. Burd is a Fellow of the Association of Certified Accountants, and gained a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) in 2000. She was Chairman of the Hertfordshire Association of Chief Finance Officers in 2001, and is a member of the ACCA Public Sector Technical Issues Committee, which provides advice to organisations on technical initiatives and responds to the government on financial developments. She is also an active member of the ACCA Public Sector Society.

Her career in local government finance began in July 1974 with Welwyn Hatfield District Council. Joining Hertfordshire Constabulary in October 1994 as the first professionally qualified Head of Finance, she established new systems and processes following the establishment of a standalone police authority under the Police and Magistrates Courts Act of 1994. As head of finance she worked with the Chief Constable and his executive team to develop and implement corporate business strategies, and her role expanded to include co-ordination of the procurement and fleet management sections.

Since September 2000 Mrs. Burd has been working as Corporate Director, Finance and Resources, with Watford Council, the first District Council to have an elected Mayor. As the council’s Section 151 Officer she also has strategic lead for resource issues, primarily finance, information technology and property. During her time at Watford Mrs. Burd has developed and rebuilt the financial management of the council following an adverse report from the District Auditor just as she arrived. She established an internal audit section, introduced robust financial monitoring, fundamentally overhauled the budget process and delivered a short and long-term recovery plan addressing the auditor’s criticisms. She has put in place an IT Strategy and chairs a variety of officer groups to deliver this over the medium term, and also led a Best Value Review which developed a new approach to utilising assets and their re-designation or sale for reinvestment.

Keith Luck, Director of Resources, said:

“Mrs. Burd impressed the panel with her knowledge and skills. Her six years previous experience as Head of Finance with Hertfordshire Constabulary will help her to settle into what is a demanding and tough role within the Met, probably the most difficult of its kind in the police service. We look forward to welcoming her to the Met when she begins on 17th March”.

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