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Value for Money advice & support

The Value for Money standard requires Housings Associations to:

  • clearly articulate the organisation’s strategic objectives
  • have a comprehensive and robust strategic approach to achieve VFM in those objectives
  • measure, monitor and report performance against strategic objectives and associated targets
  • regularly consider VFM gains (effectively on-going self-assessment)
  • deliver VFM, by ensuring optimal benefit is derived from the organisation’s resources and assets and that the 3Es (economy, efficiency and effectiveness) underpin delivery
  • report their VFM performance annually in a comprehensive, open and honest manner

In short, the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) expects VFM to be embedded from board to frontline. But doing that can pose a challenge not least of which is ensuring they are interpreting regulatory requirements correctly and achieving compliance.

Has your organisation embedded VFM?

Since the VFM standard was reissued in 2018, we have supported associations embed VFM and comply with regulatory requirements, including:

  • VFM reporting. Whether it’s about coming up with a bespoke reporting template or sense-checking what you propose to include in your accounts, we can support regulatory compliance.
  • VFM awareness briefings for board members – clarifying regulatory requirements, implications and the board’s role
  • VFM measurement, in-depth benchmarking analysis and identification of potential VFM gains.
    Rationalising the association’s approach to metrics includes identifying corporate strategic VFM measures and establishing a structure of primary and secondary metrics with the executive team. Benchmarking data is reviewed with the executive team to understand cost drivers and identify activities for cost/performance improvement or further review.
  • VFM strategy development. This starts with a short, facilitated, criteria-based self-assessment of the association’s current approach to VFM. The self-assessment is used to inform an executive workshop where improvement actions are identified and included in a succinct VFM strategy document aligned to the association’s corporate objectives
  • VFM: making it real for managers and staff. These interactive workshops demystify VFM whilst engaging staff in the link between their day-to-day work and the achievement of corporate objectives (value delivery) and also emphasising their role in maximising this value as experts in their field.

Get in touch if you require VFM support.

Acuity can help you to understand and respond to the requirements of the regulator. As always our approach is is based on taking action that is useful for your organisation, not just regulatory box-ticking: