Job Title:

Entry Level Finance Trainee

Grade:

Band 3 -£14,437 plus £3,468 HCAS

Hours of duty:

37.5

Service Centre / Directorate:

Finance

Base:

Responsible to:

Finance Manager

Accountable to:

Senior Manager of section

Responsible for:

None

Staff from a wide variety of Finance Sections including Management Accounts, Income, Payroll, Financial Accounts, Internal Audit, Procurement, Accounts Payable, Pensions, etc. Also staff outside of the Finance

External:

Managers and staff from other NHS Organisations, Inland Revenue, Suppliers, Patients, Health related associations

The Role of the Finance Directorate is to provide a complete finance service to the whole of the Trust, addressing all issues of a finance nature and providing all relevant information to meet external demands. These services may include, but are not limited to, any of the following: budgetary setting, reporting & control, financial advice, income management, financial reporting to external bodies, annual accounts preparation, debt management, payroll & pension services, new business evaluations, business restructuring, staff evaluation & development, etc.

1. Responsible for ensuring that financial information is processed in accordance with stated Trust procedures and processes in order to provide management and statutory report information.

2. Responds to routine enquiries from staff / customers and suppliers and investigates as required.

3. Observe and maintain client confidentiality.

4. Provide advice to managers and staff on relevant financial issues.

5. Ensures financial information is completed in accordance with Trust financial timetables.

1. To investigate and answer routine queries arising from Budget Holders, Management and other Finance staff as well as external bodies (including the Inland Revenue, other Trusts, Reporting agencies and suppliers).

2. To be aware of Trust policy and relevant legislation (principally the Data Protection Act) with regard to Client confidentiality and communicate appropriately.

3. To develop and maintain a good knowledge of the Trust’s processes and procedures and the accounting system relating to the activities of a section of the Finance directorate (see sections below).

4. To have knowledge and awareness of the application of relevant national accounting standards and NHS Finance Initiatives e.g. Payment by Results, Agenda For Change, etc.

5. To attend finance meetings and document key information and decisions as required.

6. To apply basic accounting knowledge and techniques to all areas of work, including the production of journals, routine costing and variance analysis.

7. To perform financial calculations to support financial transactions relating to a section of the finance directorate.

8. To analyse basic financial information in response to queries from Managers, suppliers and customers.

9. To identify and resolve errors and discrepancies.

10. To be able to process high volumes of information while also evaluating the data’s relevance for inclusion in costing and other reports.

11. To plan, organise and manage own workload to ensure your contribution to the Trust’s monthly financial reporting process is achieved in a timely and accurate manner.

12. To input accounting data into the accounting system with speed and accuracy.

13. To be aware of the needs of patients within the Hospital environment and to act courteously at all times.

14. To be responsible for following national NHS Accounting guidelines and relevant legislation as incorporated in the established internal policies and procedures of the Trust.

15. To suggest changes to internal department procedures as identified and be involved in the continuous improvement development of processes.

16. Monitors and contributes to the drawing up of budgets during the yearly budget setting process.

17. Collates and records cheque payments and/or cash as received.

18. To provide induction training to new Finance trainees and demonstrate own activities.

19. To create, develop and maintain accounting spreadsheets used in the Finance function.

20. Assist in the upkeep of department journal logs, database of budgeted staff costs and recharges.

21. To maintain departmental storage and retrieval systems.

22. To undertake periodic audit of own work and report on areas of possible improvement.

23. To be guided by standard procedures, good practice & precedents and is expected to understand what results or outputs are required.

24. To ensure that work is performed in accordance with Trust processes and procedures and to refer to line managers for guidance as required.

25. To spend significant periods of the working day sitting at a workstation inputting and viewing data (in excess of ¾ of the working day).

26. To be able to work in a busy office environment, demanding high levels of concentration while inputting, checking and making calculations, while also coping with frequent interruptions, e.g. responding to staff/customer enquires.

27. To sometimes work long and irregular hours in order to meet the finance accounting service commitment to internal and external clients, taking into account any staff sickness or absences.

28. To occasionally deal with potentially distressed staff and budget holders in a calm and professional manner.

29. To maintain a pleasant outward disposition.

30. To more or less continually use a VDU and a keyboard for much of each day for the purposes of communication and work completion.

31. Infrequent requirement to retrieve documents from a storage area that is likely to be less clean than a typical modern office environment.

Finance Directorate Section activities for posts at Trainee level:

a)     Financial Accounts

                           I.      Assist in the production, analysis and review of balance sheets and other financial accounting services.

§         Ensure that the Trust's assets and liabilities are accurately reflected in the ledger by reconciling control accounts, and resolving all differences quickly and accurately.

§         Assist in the timely payment of various payroll deductions and prepare for payment of urgent cheques when requested by Payroll and Payments. 

§         Administer the car leasing scheme, ensuring that queries are dealt with politely and efficiently.

§         Receipt and input of cash sheets for all income into the 'Debtors Billing Management' system.  Liaise with the Debtors section to ensure that all receipts are correctly coded.  Bank cheques.  Maintain the Trust's cashbooks.  Reconcile cash books to bank statements.

§         Maintain the losses and compensation register and the medical negligence register.

§         Assist in the planning production and review of monthly and year end balance sheets and the Annual Accounts including variance analysis.

                         II.      Any other assigned Financial Accounting duties.

b)     Management Account

                           I.      Assist in providing budgetary control and other financial information and advice to a number of the Trust's budget holders.  This may include:-

§         Preparation of ad hoc costing or budgetary exercises.

§         Preparation of reports on all aspects of the work.

§         Liaison with the budget holders, SDU leaders and business managers, advising and assisting as required.

§         Calculation of monthly provisions for inclusion in the Trusts monthly accounts.

§         Production of sound and accurate budgetary information to budget holders including the monitoring of budgetary performance and the investigation and reporting of material variances.

§         The preparation, calculation and maintenance of various budgets (using both computerised and manual methods) including the reflection within the relevant budgets of movements in pay and price levels and decisions made by various levels of management.

                         II.      Any other assigned management accounting duties.

c)     Income

                           I.      To be responsible for the day to day management of debts of a section of the Trust's customers.

§         To ensure invoices are raised promptly and correctly using the Millennium Debtors Billing System (DBM).

§         To ensure invoices are raised only in respect of legitimate debts.

§         To ensure outstanding accounts are paid promptly by actioning appropriate and effective follow up procedures.

§         To establish close liaisons with all major customers to ensure the timely identification of disputed invoices.

§         To report regularly on the age and level of debts, identifying trends and problem accounts/customers.

§         To prepare schedules of uncollectable debts for write off in conjunction with the Income Manager.

§         To reconcile the schedule of outstanding accounts to the financial ledger.

§         To maintain any other control accounts as appropriate.

d)     Audit

                           I.      Undertake and satisfactorily conclude audits and unplanned urgent work under the supervision of the Audit Officers.

§         Maintain a comprehensive file on all audits to include proper background, brief and working papers.

§         Draft audit programmes, internal control, questionnaires and other such documentation for the approval of the Audit Manager/Audit Officer.

§         Participate in discussions of audit findings and recommendations with operational managers and other officers as appropriate with a view to obtaining their implementation within a timescale which is sufficiently realistic to be effective.

§         Assist in the implementation of the use of new technology to improve audit performance.

                         II.      Any other assigned Audit duties.

General:

1. To have responsibility for the health, safety and welfare of staff and others and to comply at all times with the requirements of the Health and safety regulations.

2. To ensure confidentiality at all times, only releasing confidential information obtained during the course of employment to those acting in an official capacity in accordance with the provisions of the Data Protection Act and its amendments.

3. To work in accordance with the Trust’s policy to eliminate unlawful discrimination and promote good race relations and diversity in the workplace. To positively promote at all times equality of opportunity in service delivery and employment for patients and staff in accordance with the Trust’s policies, to ensure that no person receives less favourable treatment than another on the grounds of sex, martial status, race, religion, creed, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, sexual orientation or disability.

4. To comply with the St George's Health care no smoking policy

5. To undertake such duties as may be required from time to time as are consistent with the responsibilities of the grade and the needs of the service.

6. This job description is not an exhaustive document but is a reflection of the current position. Details and emphasis may change in line with service needs after consultation with the post holder.

1. What is the type of communication you have to do in your job? Do you use computers? What software packages do you have to use and what for?

   This role involves the frequent verbal and written communication of routine, and detailed financial information, particularly within the Budgetary control function. The post holder must be able to communicate accurately with a range of different people, both internal and external to the Trust. The post holder uses the Agresso Financial Accounting system, all Microsoft Office software with particular competency in Excel (advanced formulas and analytical tools within the program).

2. What input do you have into local policies and procedures?

   As part of the Finance Directorate’s policy of Continual Incremental Improvement, the post holder is expected to enhance the working practices and policy of his/her allocated areas of responsibility.

3. Are you a budget holder or designated signatory? If so for how much? Do you handle stock, cash or patients valuables? Please give details.

   One of the primary purposes of the post holder is to monitor and control budgetary movements in conjunction with budget holders and management.

4. Do you lift boxes or move anything? Give details of frequency and weight. How much time each day would you spend on this activity or on keyboard use?

   Limited lifting or moving of heavy objects. Occasional requirement to archive material in large boxes which require sifting from office to arranged pick-up point.

   Regular requirement to use keyboard / mouse over 5 – 7 hours per day.

5. What activity at work requires the greatest amount of your concentration? How often do you do this? Are you interrupted and does this mean that you have to change what you are doing?

   The preparation of Budgetary control reports, costing data and journal input require high levels of accuracy and concentration. It is not uncommon during these periods of concentration to be interrupted by junior staff, budget holders and other staff in person or over the phone.

   This post requires that the post holder be able to handle interruptions without losing his/her train of thought.

6. Do you have to deal with any distressing circumstances? Please elaborate, stating how often this happens.

   To occasionally deal with potentially distressed budget holders in a calm and professional manner .

7. What exposure do you have to hazards – chemical, biological, physical. How often and under what circumstances?

   No exposure to hazardous chemicals.

8. What is your working environment like? Are you exposed to physical or verbal abuse? Please elaborate.

   Not exposed to physical abuse. Very occasionally deal with upset budget holders or external contacts. Work in office environment.

Knowledge & Skill