Finance Assistant

Job description

Job responsibilities

Understand and comply with the Trusts policies, Standing FinancialInstructions and Standing Orders.

Understand the Trust-wide financial and operational issues; contribute tothe achievement of the Trusts financial objectives.

Working within the Finance Team and with ward and departmentalmanagers, assist in improving the quality of the financial service to wardsand departments within and outside the Trust

Write and maintain written procedures for tasks within the department

Determine priorities in workload in order to maximise personal productivity and efficiency; treat all data in an appropriate manner (e.g. preparation, storage, retrieval, dissemination)

On an annual basis and at other times during the year assist in thepreparation of ward and department budgets; make a note ensure all costpressures are noted; cost improvements are recorded; check all budgetsfor reasonableness and amend as appropriate.

Ensure ward and department managers understand their budgets and theimpact of cost pressures and cost improvements so that they are aware ofany major changes therein; obtain management sign off on all budgets inline with set timetable

Log all budget changes and ensure that each is supported by evidence oftheir validity (e.g. senior manager sign off, skill mix requests, etc); ensureall movements in and out of Trust reserves are authorised by the AssociateDirector of Finance; store all documents in an appropriate manner andrespond to management and audit queries as they arise

Process budget and actual transactions accurately in line with departmental timescales at month, quarter and year end; escalate to more Senior Management, if any transaction is out of the norm; raise recurrent and adhoc invoice requests and, where recurrent, work with the Income &Contracts team to put appropriate Service Level Agreements in place.

Carry out regular reconciliations of appropriate accrued and prepaidexpenditure and accrued and deferred income to ensure reports reflect themost up to date situation.

Assist in the maintenance of the schedule of delegated authority and thefinancial report distribution list.

Prepare, in line within the departmental timetable, draft ward anddepartmental financial reports and review the anomalies and variances witha view to ensuring the final reports are accurate; where there are anomaliesand/or major variances, identify causes (e.g. activity/price changes) andprepare reports to show managers what has happened.

Meet with ward and department managers, on a regular basis, to discussareas of concern in the financial reports (eg unexpected trends, significantvariances); respond in reasonable timescales to any request frommanagers for further analysis of costs and income.

To work independently, raising any matters of concern with the DeputyManager or Senior Manager (Financial Management) as appropriate.

Carry out other recurrent and ad-hoc exercises relating to financialinformation and advice to all levels of management within the Trust (e.g.General Managers, Associate Directors of Operations, ExecutiveManagement and Board members) ensuring that each person has theauthority to request such information.

Carry out other recurrent and ad-hoc exercises relating to financialinformation to organisations and individuals (e.g. NHSI, FOI) ensuring thateach has the authority to request such information.

Carry out ad-hoc costing requests in support of budget changes (e.g. skillmix) and/or business cases of varying complexity for internal and HealthEconomy-wide purposes.

Assist in the preparation of ward & departmental financial forecasts in line with set timetables.

Work with ward & departmental managers to ensure they understand what financial reports are telling them, interpret graphs and reports and assist managers with the formulation of plans to hit their set budgets

Undertake mandatory training as appropriate Information Governance,Health & Safety, Equal Opportunities

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Good level of general education to (A/O level/GCSEs in Maths & English)
• AAT Technician Level/ NVQ Level 4 or similar level of knowledge acquired through experience (see below)
• Microsoft Office training, specifically in Microsoft Excel

Experience

Essential

• One year's work experience in a financial management role/deadline
• At least one year's use of complex Excel techniques (Look ups/Pivots)
• Organising/prioritising own workload

Desirable

• Experience working in the NHS
• Meeting internal and external reporting deadlines

Skills

Essential

• Understand the meaning of Financial Management/ Budgetary Control
• IT skills - financial systems, data bases, Microsoft Office suite
• Input data, interpret and communicate routine financial information
• Able to communicate sensitive financial information to colleagues and managers

Desirable

• Knowledge of NHS finance regime
• Time management skills

Personal Qualities

Essential

• Appreciation of importance of Confidentiality of information
• Desire to learn and develop (CPD)

Desirable

• A knowledge/awareness of the Trusts policies

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Employer details

Employer name

South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Warwick

Warwick

CV34 5BW

Employer's website

https://www.swft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)