HM Treasury requires government organisations to plan, monitor and report their financial position at various stages of the financial cycle. To collect, hold, manage and report this information HM Treasury uses a system called COINS.

COINS, the Combined On-line Information System, integrates all the functions from the three previous legacy systems used for collecting, processing and reporting financial information from over 50 Central Government Departments. COINS, for the first time ever, brings financial management / data / reporting / consolidation all together in one system, in one format.

Benefits

Operational:

1. With financial reporting integration, COINS enhances the transparency, accountability and audit-ability of financial data held by HM Treasury
2. A secure and standard reporting suite, with real-time, online access that can be accessed by any department, at any time across the secure government network
3. Access to Treasury & Parliamentary published reports directly off COINS
4. Encouragement of closer links and communication between Departments and Treasury
5. Spending teams, fostering greater ‘ownership’ of data entered into COINS

Strategic:

1. It facilitates improvements to financial management:

– During the initial implementation phase of COINS, it became clearer through the Financial Management and Efficiency reviews that there is increasing pressure on Departments and Treasury to improve their financial management in the increasingly tighter central government fiscal environment. HM Treasury had the strategic vision to see that through the integration, transparency and consolidation functionality offered in the COINS system, that COINS can act as a facilitator to improving financial management

– The Office of National Statistics (ONS) own ‘Atkinson Review’, of which an element was particularly concerned with the quality of financial data reported to ONS & Treasury. Many of the recommendations directly impact on HM Treasury and Departmental systems through future enhancements to COINS as a result of the findings of the review. HM Treasury has initiated a Data Quality Improvement Program, which will be looking at enhance certain features in COINS i.e.

i. Enhancing the reporting suite within COINS
ii. More management accounting reporting
iii. Introduction of data validation suite

This is topped with the over all strategic aim of improving the quality of financial data and facilitating improvements to financial management.

2. Performance:

In the wider context of improving financial management through the Data Quality Improvement agenda, there is scope in the future for COINS to act as the building block for Performance Management – closely linked to the Financial Management.

Review findings: COINS could be used to provide dashboard views (Performance Management) for Senior Management within Treasury and Central Government Departments.

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