Finance for Councillors: Linking budgets to strategy

This webinar equips councillors to interpret the key financial signals behind council strategy – how funding really works, which constraints matter, and what to probe in budgets and reports.

Led by AICD finance expert Roslyn Jackson, alongside a panel of experienced local government members, the session supports councillors to move beyond compliance‑level financial oversight to confident, strategic questioning that protects long‑term community value.

The webinar will focus on how councillors can:

• Interpret how council funding structures constrain or enable strategic choices, including the implications of rate capping, grant dependency and own‑source revenue
• Apply financial information to assess the viability of strategic plans, challenge assumptions, and prioritise community outcomes within financial constraints
• Recognise early financial risk signals, including climate‑related financial risk, and ask informed questions about resilience, long‑term affordability and disclosure readiness

Councillors will leave with a practical set of questions to use in budget and strategy discussions, helping surface risk early and strengthen long‑term resilience, including oversight of emerging climate‑related financial disclosure expectations (AASB S2).