Assistant Financial Accountant - Group Accounting & Cash

Job description

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Provide operational support to the Financial Accountant - Group Accounting and Cash in the delivery of all statutory / NHS accounts and monthly returns (including Provider Financial Returns (PFR's), Statutory Accounts and detailed working papers) which should represent a true and fair view of the Trust position and meet financial timescales and legal requirements.

Assist in the comprehensive production of all necessary detailed working papers for the monthly / annual accounts.

To maintain the integrity of the trial balance (TB), properly coding transactions to ensure that production of the key reports and statements can be derived from the General Ledger with minimal manual intervention and that Group inter-company transactions are properly eliminated.

Meet with HPSN colleagues to discuss the monthly budget position, agreeing and acting on any subsequent actions.

Oversee the Trust's Cashiers function, completing Senior Cashiers appraisals and to ensure both site offices are staffed appropriately.

To follow the agreed timetable relating to Trust control accounts and suspense accounts, ensuring that all procedures are followed in a timely manner.

To record the completion of Trust / HPSN SOFP control accounts (internal or SBS produced), ensuring reconciliations are completed and reviewed on time by responsible officers, in the prescribed Trust format and provide evidence / report any issues to the Financial Accountant.

Authorise urgent payments as prepared by the Cashiers, checking any relevant supporting documents.

Complete SOFP control account reconciliations (including cash, receivables and payables) and take action to clear outstanding balances prior to the next review.

Input to the annual accounts and audit as required, responding to audit queries as directed by the Financial Accountants.

Complete the Agreement of Balances process (AoB), within the context of the overall accounts timetable, ensuring all AoB submissions are completed including dealing with queries relating to mismatches.

Act on advice from the Financial Accountant - Technical Accounts to correctly comply with new or updated accounting standards as adopted by the NHS.

Responsibility for the performance management and development of the Financial Accounting Officer (Group Reporting and Cash).

Undertake performance reviews, appraisals and regular 1:1 meetings.

Comply with Trust values and behaviours within the Department.

Suggest and adapt to new ways of working, including automation and artificial intelligence to improve accuracy and timeliness.

Help to ensure compliance with Corporate Governance (financial controls), Standing Orders, Standing Financial Instructions and other standards, working with colleagues across the Finance function and in the wider Trust to promote good governance practice and the highest standards of business conduct.

Calculation of finance revenue including interest received.

Provide auditors with assurance on the reported pay position, reconciling the Gross to Net reports each month to the general ledger, movements in manpower and non-recurring items (e.g. / pay awards)

Update bank mandates and authorised signatories for the accounts, ensuring the prompt addition, amendment or removal of signatories and users in line with current postholders and ensure corporate cards are reconciled and appropriately recharged.

Review any limits on card transactions, bacs payments etc to ensure these are still appropriate and recommend changes to the Financial Accountant - Group Accounting and Cash for onward approval.

Input into the content of Trust policies.

Any other duties as determined appropriate by the Financial Accountant - Group Accounting and Cash including providing cross cover where necessary for the Financial Accountant - Technical Accounts (including where it may be an opportunity for the postholder for development purposes).

Person specification

Training & Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Part qualified professional CCAB Accountancy qualification or equivalent experience.
• Theoretical and practical accounting, systems knowledge.
• Good knowledge / ability in using MS Excel to solve complex problems.
• Staff management experience.
• Knowledge of accounting and reporting standards (including IFRS).
• Knowledge of financial accounting processes, VAT, financial systems and financial legislation.
• Committed to instigating and maintaining own Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and encouraging / enabling that of others.
• NVQ Level 5/professional accountancy Qualifications - Certificate Level/Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) Member or equivalent experience to degree level plus supervisory experience.

Desirable criteria

• Qualified CCAB or looking to complete professional CCAB qualification in 1-2 years.

Experience

Essential criteria

• NHS finance experience
• Experience of communicating effectively with finance and non-finance managers on financial matters offering solutions to problems.
• Advanced level of understanding of Microsoft Excel, including the use of advanced functionality.

Desirable criteria

• Experience in an NHS Provider Finance function.
• Working knowledge of Oracle general ledger systems
• NHS Financial Accounting experience including Agreement of Balances principles.
• Experience of using automated processes to improve efficiency.

Communication and Relationship Skills

Essential criteria

• Strong interpersonal skills, proven ability to develop and sustain productive relationships with team members and colleagues.
• Provide and present complex financial and other information (eg workforce numbers).
• Communicate effectively at all levels, both orally and in writing, recognising the differing needs of the audience, and respond appropriately with tact & diplomacy over contentious issues.
• Feed-back, train and deal with performance issues for staff.
• Maintain a customer-focused business-like approach considering the effect of actions on other stakeholders.
• Invite full participation and encourage staff to offer ideas.
• Exposure to occasional emotional circumstances and empathise and deal with angry or upset colleagues.
• Discuss financial queries with staff or external stakeholders which are often complex and contentious, including reasons for delays in payment and other sensitive issues.
• Provide advice on complex financial and corporate issues to non-financial managers.
• Negotiate with NHS or external organisations over cost, service issues.

Analytical and Judgement Skills

Essential criteria

• Make judgements involving complex facts or situations, requiring the analysis, interpretation and evaluation of information.
• Analyse complex financial trends involving many streams of data and produce forecasts using a wide range of data and assumptions.
• Develop and advise on complex financial issues and investigate and resolve errors.

Planning and Organisation Skills

Essential criteria

• Plan and organise activities or programmes, to deliver tasks to the required timetable.
• Plan monthly workload to positively impact across the department & the organisation.
• Contribute to the overall financial strategy and finance accreditation.
• Work on own initiative and lead by example.
• Contributes to long-term financial plans working with colleagues to ensure triangulation of assumptions.
• Plan for tax and legislative changes.
• Make daily adjustments to schedules / forecasts in order to deal with organisation requirements and to ensure targets are met.
• Coordinate and plan activities with other professionals and agencies e.g. auditors, Inland Revenue.

Physical Skills

Essential criteria

• Ability to concentrate for long periods (inputting, validating and financial data analysis).
• Light physical effort required - sitting, standing, walking and driving / travelling.
• Use of PC / Laptop / display screen equipment continuously.
• Concentration required when analysing data, checking and reconciling information, making calculations and when answering queries from staff.
• May be required to switch tasks.
• Office conditions may vary from time to time (eg. open plan, single office).

Other requirements specific to the role

Essential criteria

• Requirement to work flexibly, including working on-site depending on the requirements of the role or the wider team at any particular time.
• Requirement to attend face to face meetings and other activities (eg training, stock takes).
• Requirement to attend virtual (MS Teams) meetings when working from home and be present and available during office hours.
• Suggest changes to and implement accounting and financial policies and procedures in own area or section.
• Propose changes to and redesign local accounting and financial policies and procedures, which have an impact in other areas.
• Allocate and check the work of more junior staff in the section
• Deliver finance training / specialist training.
• Design / format spreadsheets and databases for specific purposes.
• Introduce, adapt and improve financial systems in own area of responsibility.
• Work to achieve agreed objectives in own way working within broad professional policies, often without reference to manager.

Commitment to Trust Values and Behaviours

Essential criteria

• Behave in a way that is consistent with the Trust's Team NUH behavioural standards.

Come and join our wonderful team at NUH. We are big believers in diversity and welcome new ideas to help develop our team in order to deliver world class healthcare to the vast patient populations we serve. With endless personal development opportunities available, at the NUH we will endeavour to turn your job into a career!

We particularly welcome applications from people who identify as Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, or Disabled, as we are striving to be better represented at NUH.

Applicants are kindly requested to refrain from using AI at any stage during the recruitment process.

Closing Dates: Please submit your application form as soon as possible to avoid disappointment; we reserve the right to close vacancies prior to the published closing date if we receive a sufficient number of completed application forms.

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