Chief executive and directors

Our Chief Finance Officer is:

• Mark Nicholson

The Finance directorate includes:

• audit, risk and insurance
• financial accounting, management and strategy
• revenue and benefits
• procurement and payments
• property services

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Biography

Mark was appointed as the council’s Chief Finance Officer on 1 August 2022 and acts as the council’s section 151 officer.

Prior to this Mark was the council’s Assistant Director Financial Services, and he has worked for the council since April 2006.

Mark is a qualified accountant and prior to joining the council he worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers in the city and the National Audit Office in London, where he completed his professional training.

Mark’s directorate has both an internal and external focus. 

The external focus is led by:

• the Revenues and Benefits team, who collect council tax and business rates, and administer housing benefits to vulnerable residents
• Property Services, who manage a wide range of properties occupied by local businesses and other organisations across the city
• Procurement and Payments, who pay suppliers for goods, works and services provided to the council  

The rest of the directorate is mainly focused on supporting managers and staff across the council to effectively manage the financial resources delegated to them.

Mark is committed to providing an efficient and effective service to residents and council staff, and is always keen to receive feedback on how the services in his directorate can be improved.

He also loves living and working in this great city, and is committed to making it an even better place to be.