Jobs in health and social care

Public sector organisations have to manage millions of pounds of government money, which is being spent by many different departments. The Finance department has many sections:

• creditor payments: invoices for things, which have been bought, must be checked and then paid. This could be equipment, or agency staff, or payment for staff training
• payroll: all the staff salaries must be paid with the correct amount and on time each month, and deductions made for National Insurance, pension and tax payments etc.(payroll clerk)
• financial accounting: every year the organisation must prepare a set of accounts to show how much has been spent, on what, and that it is in line with legal requirements
• cashiering: this section collects money coming in, e.g. looking after patients money, petty cash for some departments, income from canteens and catering events, and they also pay for patients travel expenses (cashier)
• treasury management: this is planning the cash flow, i.e. making sure that there is always enough money to cover this month’s expenses, and investing any surplus
• debtors section: collecting income from various sources, e.g. Dept of health, local GPs clinics, rents from the nurses home
• financial management: preparation of budget statements to show each department how much they have spent each month, keeping track of each departments actual spend against what they had planned. The management accountants work very closely with each department to give advice on managing money and cash flow and keeping within budgets
• internal audit: these accountants check that there are controls within the organisation to ensure that money is properly spent and nothing is ordered which cannot be justified.
• capital accounting: managing the annual allocation of money for buildings, large pieces of equipment, calculating the depreciation charge in the annual accounts
• financial planning: planning ahead through annual 3 year plans to ensure that the organisation can meet financial targets set by the government e.g. stay within the cash limit, break even on income and expenditure

Across each of these areas of work, fully qualified and experienced accountants or managers lead teams. Within each team there are also people who are studying for accountancy qualifications, doing a different level each year, and clerical and admin. finance workers who started without any specific qualification and are learning while working. Finance is definitely an area of work where you can start in a lower level job, gain experience and move up the ladder of jobs without having to have qualifications when you start.

Example 1
Sharma is half way through his accountancy qualification. He works in Financial management. He manages a team of four management accountants. Today he is preparing his budget statements for this month’s report for each of the departments he is responsible for. His assistants have collected the information and put it into spreadsheets on the computer, so that he can see all the information and check for differences between this month and last month, anything unexpected. He will then send them out to department heads who will comment.

Example 2
John a financial accountant. This month he is working with the auditors whoa re checking that the annual accounts that he prepared show a true picture. The auditors are worried that his treatment of patient’s moneys is incorrect.

Example 3
Almara is a creditor payments clerk. Every week she gets invoices for things which have been bought by the departments, She will check that the invoice is in line with the original order, and that it was authorised by the budget holder (i.e. the accident and emergency department). If everything is correct she sends it for payment. if not, she sends it back to the department. She enters the details onto the computer to show what she has done. She also deals with questions from companies who are waiting for payment for something they have delivered.

• costing e.g. establishing the price or cost of an activity e.g. identifying the real cost of a hip replacement
• financial accounting e.g. how to do double entry bookkeeping
• tax e.g. knowing the rules about different kinds of tax e.g. VAT, income tax, corporation tax,
• company law e.g. the law behind contracts and responsibility for employees
• maths and statistics
• IT for accounting e.g. spreadsheets etc.
• economics e.g. supply and demand
• financial management e.g. choosing between different options for investment
• auditing e.g. checking that the organisation is controlling its finances
• managing people and teams
• general management

• GCSE or equivalent level of Maths and English
• possibly some experience of keeping accounts. This could be for yourself, your family, as a volunteer, or in a job.
• experience of teamwork . This could be in a job, voluntary organisation, family
• to be methodical and careful, giving lots of attention to detail

Yes, see the different areas of financial management and accountancy above.

Route 1 - Full time degree in accountancy(and sometimes p/t)

London Guildhall University
University of East London
Queen Mary and Westfield College
City University
South Bank University
Middlesex University
University of North London

Route 2 - Part time employment based study

Accountants To start on these qualifications you need a degree in any subject, or A levels, or AAT, or A level equivalent e.g. NVQ 3, BTEC National etc.

You can then do the professional qualification on day release, or evenings and weekends, alongside your job. In fact you will need the experience of your job in finance to help you to do the coursework for the qualification. When you pass your exams you have to submit a logbook signed by all your employers to show that you have gained experience in all the areas of work in finance.

Accounts clerks While you a re working, you can study part time for a range of qualifications including NVQs. See the VACANCIES section of this website for jobs in the finance departments of the local NHS Trusts, and see the list of professional associations offering qualifications, below.

See the list of Further education Colleges, all of which have preparation or Access courses which will prepare you for Finance and Accounts jobs or for entry to a degree course.

ACCA and CIMA are international qualifications already. Qualifications from other countries may be recognised as full qualifications here, or you may be able to get exemptions from some parts of the courses and exams.
To find out if your qualifications are recognised, contact one of the professional associations listed below.

NHS Regional Offices all run training schemes for graduates Contact:

London Region NHS
Dept of Health
Eastbourne Terrace
London W2 3QR
Tel: 0207 725 5300
Fax: 0207 258 0530

Local Finance and Management jobs advertised in the vacancy bulletins of Tower Hamlets Healthcare Trust and Barts and the London NHS, and on the VACANCY pages of this website.

The national journal which has advertisements for accounts jobs in the NHS is the Health Service Journal available at newsagents.
Information on current issues in NHS Finance can be found in Healthcare Finance - a magazine for the NHS finance profession from:
Healthcare Financial Management Association
3 Robert St
London WC2N 6BH
Tel:

Accountants:
The Insatiate of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
Gloucester House
399 Silbury Boulevard
Central Milton Keynes MK9 2HL
Tel: 01908 248 100
Fax: 01908 691 165

Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy
3 Robert St
London WC2N 6BH
Tel: 0207543 5600
FAAX: 0207543 5700

Institute of Financial Accountants
Burford House
44 London Road
Sevenoaks
Kent TN13 1TA
Tel: 01732 458080

While working as an Accounts/ Clerk/Book keeper; you can develop qualifications through these organisations:

AAT Association of Accounting Technicians
154 Clerkenwell Road
London EC1R 5AD
Tel: 0207 837 8600
Fax: 0207 415 7678

International Association of Book-keepers (IAB)
Burford House
44 London Road
Sevenoaks
Kent TN13 1AS
Tel: 01732 458080

London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI)
Customer Services dept
Marlow House
Station Road
Sidcup
Kent DA5 7BJ
Tel: 0208 302 0261