Aneen Blackmore
Biography
Aneen took up the role of Director General Finance at the Ministry of Defence in June 2024. She joined from Ofcom, the communications regulator, where she has held the post of Finance Director overseeing finance, commercial, risk and estates.
Prior to Ofcom, Aneen worked in the Civil Service from 2016, holding various roles within the Department of Housing, Communities & Local Government, and holding the role of Chief of Corporate Services within the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), overseeing the merger of the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) and Chief People Officer (CPO) portfolios into a single Corporate Services group.
Before joining the Civil Service, Aneen worked within the private sector, including BT Openreach, Royal Bank of Scotland and KPMG.
Director General Finance
The Director General Finance is the principal financial advisor for defence and is responsible for all aspects of financial management and control, including the overall defence budget and forecasting within the MOD. They are a member of the Defence Council and the Defence Board, and chair the Defence Board sub-committees for Finance and Investment Approvals. They report directly to the Permanent Secretary.
Responsibilities
- acting as the Department’s Principal Finance Officer and Defence Authority for Financial Management, to provide advice and support to the Permanent Secretary as the Accounting Officer; including on regularity and propriety issues
- negotiating and managing the Defence budget
- managing the Department’s in-year performance against targets and budgets
- working closely with the Chief Operating Officer to assure the efficient operation of defence
- setting the framework of and targets for efficiency and value for money work across defence
- as Defence Authority, overseeing the Investment, Approval and Scrutiny processes and chairing the Investment Approvals Committee
- production of the annual report and accounts
- advising on internal audit, fraud and assurance functions
- setting the strategic direction of the Department’s Commercial function
- leading the Department’s functions for Finance, Analysis and Assurance.