Job responsibilities
Main Duties & Responsibilities
The role requires a high level of communication and problem solving skills in order to meet the varying demands of budget holders and other Finance staff. The individual will therefore need to be able to work as part of a team but also on a one to one basis to resolve issues with budget managers.
1. Key aspects of the role include:
Financial Management:
Regular duties include:
To lead the month and year end management accounting processes in line with the organisations deadlines, ensuring all accruals and prepayments are made in line with financial procedures; To investigate and report on significant budgetary variances, identifying any remedial action that needs to be taken; To analyse the month end financial position, investigate variances and make appropriate adjustments if necessary in line with internal procedures; To produce monthly financial reporting for the Service Senior Management Team, summarising the financial performance to date and providing explanations of key variances; To meet regularly with budget holders to assess financial performance and to provide financial management information, analysis and advice, agreeing actions to be taken and monitoring their implementation; To ensure budget holders and managers have an awareness of financial performance requirements, including the need for budgetary control and adherence to SFIs, and to provide financial awareness training where necessary; To support the preparation of regular and ad hoc financial statements, variance analysis, and to produce a forecast out-turn position on a monthly basis for management review; To work with internal and external audit and ensure follow up and implementation of matters arising; To liaise with and assist other staff within the CNWL finance team to ensure that corporate, statutory and performance monitoring requirements are met.
Financial Planning
Regular tasks and duties include:
To assist in the preparation of future year budgets taking into account relevant activity data, cost pressures and service developments and working with Service managers to establish detailed budgetary submissions; Monitor on an on-going basis, financial performance against agreed delegated budgets, incorporating the latest information available to allow services to operate within their resources; To ensure any significant budgetary variances are reviewed and discussed with budget holders on an on-going basis; To identify from these meetings, and to report back to the Finance Manager, any risks to the budgeted position; To ensure budgetary information in the Trusts budget system is kept up-to-date and is a reliable source of information.
Business Analysis and Support
Regular tasks and duties include:
To analyse the impact of service changes and provide the cost implications of service redesign, adjusting budgets in accordance with changes in service provision if necessary; Assisting the costing team with the development of service line costing within the organisation and the production of annual reference cost submission; Analysis of costs and activity of the Trust and beyond for benchmarking purposes and develop comparative performance reports; Support other members of the Finance team with ad-hoc projects.
Systems development
Regular task and duties include:
Identifying development requirements for the reports produced by the department and to liaise with CNWL Financial Systems team; Develop expertise in the financial analysis software packages used by the Trust to provide guidance and training where necessary; Propose improvements to the core financial systems for consideration by CNWL Financial Systems team.
Supervision
The post holder will be responsible for managing their own workload in order to assist the Finance team and budget holders in meeting their objectives and the following other duties:
Where relevant, to supervise and support the Finance assistant to develop and manage their workload. He/she will be expected to take an active role in their own training and development and be studying for professional accounting qualifications; The post holder is accountable for ensuring duties are carried out in accordance with statutory regulations, NHS financial directives, generally accepted accounting practice (UK GAAP) and the Trusts financial policies and procedures; To keep up to date with relevant NHS financial developments and national guidance.
The duties and responsibilities in this job description are intended to be indicative but not exhaustive of responsibilities of the post holder. As the Trust develops the requirements of the job will develop and change and the post holder will be expected to adapt to these requirements.
2. General Requirements
Personal DevelopmentThe Post holder will be required to agree and review personal development objectives annually with their line manager and undertake agreed professional development.
ConfidentialityIn the course of your employment you will have access to confidential information relating to the business of CNWL NHS FT. You are required to exercise due consideration in the way you use such information and should not act in any way which might be prejudicial to interests of the organisation. Information which may be included in the category which requires extra consideration covers both access to the general business of the organisation and information regarding individuals including patients.
Data ProtectionThe Data Protection Act 1984 and as amended in 1998 regulates the use of automatically processed data. You are required to ensure that any information obtained, processed or held on a computer is done so in a fair and lawful way and to hold data only for the specified registered purposes and to use or disclose data only to authorised persons or organisations.
Health & SafetyYou are reminded that in accordance with the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 you have a duty to take responsible care to avoid injury to yourself and to others by your work activities and that you co-operate with CNWL NHS FT and others in meeting statutory obligations.
Equal OpportunitiesIt is the aim of CNWL NHS FT to ensure that no job applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of sex, religion, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, or is not placed at a disadvantage by conditions or requirements which cannot be shown to be justifiable.
To this end the Trust has an Equal Opportunities Policy and it is the responsibility of each employee to contribute to its success.
Outside Employment and Financial InterestsYou may, with the consent of CNWL NHS FT, engage in outside employment contracts. You must declare to CNWL NHS FT any financial interest or relationship you may have which may affect CNWL NHS FT policy decisions. CNWL NHS FT reserves the right to refuse consent if any outside employment contracts are adjudged to conflict with CNWL NHS FT interests.
SFIs & SOsIt is your responsibility to ensure that you are working within CNWL NHS FTs Standing Financial Instructions and Standing Orders. These documents provide a regulatory framework for the business conduct of the Trust. They fulfil the dual role of protecting the Trust's interests (ensuring, for example, that all transactions maximise the benefit to the Trust) and protecting staff from any possible accusation that they have acted less than properly (provided of course that staff have followed the correct procedures outlined in the relevant document).
