Reading today’s Public Finance coverage, one message comes through clearly. Financial management is no longer something that sits in the background. It is becoming central to how organisations improve productivity, make better decisions and deliver meaningful value for taxpayers.

The National Audit Office highlights both the scale of the opportunity and the reality many organisations are facing. There is real potential in areas such as AI and better use of data, but this sits alongside longstanding challenges including legacy systems, fragmented processes and inconsistent data. At the same time, expectations of finance teams are changing. They are being asked not just to report on performance, but to help shape it.

For the NHS, this is a familiar picture.

Organisations are balancing rising demand with finite resources, while being asked to improve outcomes and increase transparency. Finance teams are at the heart of that challenge. They are not only responsible for maintaining control and assurance, but also for helping leaders make decisions that will shape services now and in the future.

We also know that for many organisations, making this shift is not straightforward.

Across the system, teams are still working through the same barriers highlighted in the NAO report. Data does not always flow easily between systems. Processes can be time consuming and manual. Capacity is stretched. These are real, practical challenges that cannot be solved overnight.

This is the context in which NHS Shared Business Services is evolving its finance service.

Our focus is on supporting organisations as they move towards more connected, insight-driven finance. That means helping to simplify and standardise processes, improving the quality and accessibility of data, and introducing digital tools that reduce manual effort and create space for more value added work.

Importantly, this is not just about technology.

One of the strongest themes in the Government Finance Function strategy is the need for finance to play a broader role across organisations. In practice, that means stronger connections between finance teams, operational leaders and budget holders. It means creating a shared understanding of performance, cost and risk, so that decisions can be made with greater confidence.

That is where we are aiming to add value, working alongside NHS organisations to strengthen those links and support better day to day decision making.

When this starts to come together, the benefits are clear. Leaders have a better line of sight over what is driving costs and where there are opportunities to improve. Finance teams are able to spend more time providing insight and less time pulling information together. And organisations are in a stronger position to identify efficiencies that can be reinvested into frontline care.

There is no doubt that AI and advanced analytics will play a role in this over time. However, as the Public Accounts Committee points out, the foundations matter. High quality data, the right skills and a clear understanding of how tools are used in practice will ultimately determine how much value is realised.

For us, this is very much a journey we are on with our partners.

We are continuing to learn from the organisations we work with, adapting our services and building on what works. The ambition is clear, but so too is the need to take practical, incremental steps that deliver real improvements along the way.

Finance has an increasingly important role to play in the future of the NHS. By strengthening the link between data, insight and decision making, there is a real opportunity to support a more productive and sustainable system. One where financial decisions are better informed, and where that translates into better outcomes for patients and better value for the public.