Mark Williams

Mark recently joined CIPFA as an advisor/trainer in January 2022. The three parts to his role are: to deliver CIPFA advisory engagements including in relation to financial management, commercial skills and property/infrastructure for our clients; to support CIPFA’s policy and technical team in developing insights including on commercial and financing models, net zero and levelling up; and to deliver training including HMT’s better business case (decision-making) course and the World Bank PPP course.

Mark’s background is as a public services auditor, advisory and consultant.  He set up and led the Government finance and accounting team for one of the Big4, and in parallel was the sponsoring partner for their public services learning programme, and then led on property/infrastructure for a consultancy.  Mark is an accountant, but over the years has developed commercial, projects and property/infrastructure experience. 

Mark has worked on numerous PPP/PFI arrangements in the UK and overseas over the last 25 years.  He has been involved in all stages – set up, contract management, efficiency reviews, amendment and expiry.  As part of his efficiency review work, he has progressed a range of environmental focused improvements.  He has also been involved in many new energy efficiency programmes and projects, for example he was the funding and finance advisor on the Mayor of London Retrofit Accelerator (formerly RE:FIT) programmes for almost a decade.  Many of these use PPP style models to progress energy efficiency, micro generation, net zero.

Mark has trained over 1,500 public servants in HM Treasury’s better business case approach and 200 public servants globally in the World Bank’s public private partnerships accreditation.  Mark led the training work stream for HM Treasury on the Green Book review 2020, sharing insights/experience of complex projects and of training HMT’s Better Business Case courses.  The Green Book provides a foundation for the consideration of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) analysis.  Mark has worked in Cabinet Office’s commercial models’ team and in HM Treasury Infrastructure UK.