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Policy

Corporate Governance Framework

Our corporate governance framework sets out the necessary responsibilities and procedures that guarantee we operate properly.

  1. Contents
  2. 4 - Gambling Commission Accounting Officer's responsibilities

4 - Gambling Commission Accounting Officer's responsibilities

4.1. The DCMS Principal Accounting Officer will normally appoint the permanent head of Gambling Commission, i.e. the Chief Executive, to be the Accounting Officer for the body. The duties of the Gambling Commission's Accounting Officer are set out in full in the Permanent Secretary's appointment letter to him/her. The personal responsibilities and accountability of the Accounting Officer are set out in Managing Public Money.

4.2. The Gambling Commission's Accounting Officer is personally responsible for safeguarding the public funds for which he or she has charge; for ensuring propriety and regularity in the handling of those public funds; and, reporting to the Board of the Gambling Commission, for the day-to-day operations and management of the Gambling Commission and the achievement of its strategic aims. In addition, he or she should ensure that the Gambling Commission as a whole is run on the basis of the standards, in terms of governance, decision-making and financial management that are set out in Box 3.1 to Managing Public Money (at the time of writing).

4.3. The key accountabilities are:

  • signing the accounts and ensuring that proper records are kept relating to the accounts and that the accounts are properly prepared and presented in accordance with Treasury guidance and with any directions issued by the Secretary of State
  • signing a Statement of Accounting Officer's responsibilities, for inclusion in the annual report and accounts
  • signing a Governance Statement concerning the organisation's management and control of resources during the year and setting out how risk has been managed, for inclusion in the annual report and accounts
  • ensuring that effective procedures for handling complaints about the Gambling Commission are established and made widely known within the body
  • acting in accordance with the terms of this document, Managing Public Money and other instructions and guidance issued from time to time by the Department, the Treasury and the Cabinet Office
  • giving evidence, normally with the Accounting Officer of the sponsor Department, when summoned before the PAC on the Gambling Commission's stewardship of public funds
  • ensuring that there is no cross subsidy between funding for National Lottery regulation and gambling regulation: the Accounting Officer is responsible for ensuring that reports and accounts are able to clearly demonstrate that this is the case.

4.4. Particular responsibilities to DCMS are:

  • informing the Department of progress in helping to achieve DCMS's policy objectives as defined in the single Departmental plan, and in demonstrating how resources are being used to achieve those objectives
  • ensuring that timely forecasts and monitoring information on performance and finance are provided to the Department; that the Department is notified promptly if over or under spends are likely and that corrective action is taken; and that any significant problems whether financial or otherwise, and whether detected by internal audit or by other means, are notified to the Department in a timely fashion
  • to work collectively with the Department and other members of the DCMS 'family' of arm's length bodies in support of each other and the group as a whole.

4.5. The duties of the Accounting Officer with respect to the Board of the Gambling Commission are:

  • advising the Board on the discharge of its responsibilities as set out under the founding legislation, in this document, and in any other relevant instructions and guidance that may be issued from time to time
  • advising the Board on the Gambling Commission's performance compared with its aim[s] and objectives
  • ensuring that financial considerations are taken fully into account by the Board at all stages in reaching and executing its decisions, and that financial appraisal techniques are followed
  • taking action as set out in paragraphs 3.8.5 and 3.8.6 of Managing Public Money if the Board, or its Chair, is contemplating a course of action involving a transaction which the Chief Executive considers would infringe the requirements of propriety or regularity or does not represent prudent or economical administration, efficiency or effectiveness, questionable feasibility, or is unethical.
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