From Fragmented Systems to Connected Councils: Strengthening Financial Integrity and Community Trust

Councils and small public sector entities across Australia and New Zealand are operating in an increasingly challenging environment. Recent audit reports have highlighted deteriorating control environments, unresolved system weaknesses, and growing asset and infrastructure sustainability risks. Many councils are managing rising operating costs and constrained budgets, while also facing workforce shortages in specialist areas including ICT, finance, asset management and data.

At the same time, whole-of-government digital programs (such as Smart Service Queensland, NSW’s State of Legacy initiative and New Zealand’s ongoing local government reform) are lifting expectations for secure, consistent and citizen-centred digital services. Yet a significant proportion of local government ICT spend remains tied up in maintaining ageing, fragmented systems that limit data visibility, slow decision-making, increase cyber exposure and make it difficult to meet audit and compliance requirements.

For leaders responsible for finance, customer experience, digital systems, information management and asset operations, the need to modernise is now directly linked to organisational resilience, public trust and workforce sustainability. This session provides practical, council-focused guidance on navigating these pressures and establishing the secure, connected platforms needed to support future automation and AI.

Key discussion points:

• Responding to audit findings with stronger systems and controls
  How modern platforms address recurring issues identified by audit offices, including fragmented data, manual processes, weak internal controls and limited asset visibility.
• Improving financial sustainability through connected workflows
  How integrated finance, procurement and asset processes reduce duplication, error rates and rework, enabling clearer planning and more reliable reporting.
• Enhancing customer and community experience
  How joined-up service channels and digital workflows support faster responses, more consistent interactions and better visibility of community needs.
• Building data foundations that enable transparency and informed decision-making
  How modern data models, shared records and real-time insights strengthen governance, reporting, risk management and long-term investment decisions.
• Preparing for automation and AI within a secure, governed environment
  What councils and agencies need to have in place now to adopt emerging capabilities safely and responsibly.
  

Who should attend:

Senior leaders and decision-makers across finance, ICT, transformation, corporate systems, customer experience, data, information management, service delivery, and asset and field operations within:

• Local Government
• State Government (including smaller agencies, Smart Service-aligned functions and corporate systems leaders)
• Other public sector entities
• New Zealand central government agencies supporting local government