About this role
Job summary
Job Summary - Finance Manager, Financial Accounts (Band 7)
St George's Hospital, Tooting | Finance Directorate*
This role leads the Financial Accounting function, ensuring accurate financial reporting and compliance with NHS standards and statutory requirements. The Finance Manager oversees month-end and year-end processes, prepares annual account disclosures (including VAT returns, remuneration disclosures, and WGA schedules), and manages control account reconciliations. The postholder acts as lead technical accounting specialist, providing expert guidance on complex transactions, and manages junior finance staff to ensure timely, high-quality reporting.
Ideal candidates** will hold a degree and be CCAB part-qualified (or fully qualified), with a minimum of five years' NHS financial accounting experience at a senior level, strong knowledge of IFRS/IAS standards, and proven team management skills.
Main duties of the job
Key responsibilities include coordinating external audits, managing cash flow and treasury functions, overseeing salary sacrifice schemes, and leading the Trust's annual stock count. The role also requires supporting continuous improvement in financial processes and maintaining robust internal controls.
About us
St George's, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals and Health Group cares for a population of four million people in South West London and North East Surrey.Our sites include St George's Hospital, one of 11 major trauma centres in the UK and the largest healthcare provider and major teaching hospital in the area; St Helier Hospital, home to the South West Thames Renal and Transplantation Unit and Queen Mary's Hospital for Children; and Epsom Hospital, home to the South West London Elective Orthopaedic Centre (SWLEOC).
After years of collaboration, our two Trusts became a hospitals group in 2021. While remaining as two separate Trusts, being a hospitals group will help us to collaborate more closely on research, and the development, education, and training of our 17,000-strong workforce.
At gesh we are committed to supporting flexible working arrangements. Applicants are encouraged to discuss any flexibility they may need during the recruitment process.
Job description Job responsibilities
1. To develop and maintain an expert understanding of the Trusts processes and procedures and the accounting system relating to financial reporting and control, including an operational understanding of other Finance functions, e.g. Income, Accounts Receivable, Payroll, Procurement, etc.
2. To have a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of national accounting standards applicable to the trust and an awareness of the NHS Finance framework, e.g. NHS manual for Accounts, Treasury guidelines.
3. To prepare the year-end accounts timetable in consultation with other sections of the Finance department (Management Accounts, Accounts Payable, Income and the Systems team), the Procurement department, and Trust budget holders to ensure that all relevant internal and external deadlines are achieved.
4. To review and co-ordinate the stock count of the Trusts stocks of drugs, engineering and building materials, high-value radiology and dental stock at year-end.
5. To liaise with Trust senior managers, including Directors, regarding the disclosure of their remuneration and benefits in the Annual accounts as required by the Greenbury report.
6. To prepare a comprehensive working papers file fully cross-referenced to supporting documentation for the Trusts external auditors and to investigate, explain and resolve potentially highly complex and technical accounting and financial queries raised by the external auditors.
7. To review the year-end process after completion to identify areas for improvement and implement the required changes in working practices to improve the process for the following year.
8. Responsible for carrying out the Agreement of balance exercise
9. Responsible for preparing the monthly VAT returns, proposing adjustments or corrections on input VAT, and coordinating the COS review with the Trusts VAT consultant.
10. Coordinate the payables and expenditure side of the NHS balance agreement exercise, liaising with other NHS bodies and Finance staff as required. Reconcile and agree creditors balances with statements issued by other NHS bodies and prepare relevant draft WGA schedules as part of the FTC returns.
11. Investigate and respond to any queries raised by the External Audit during the year-end accounts process. Support the implementation of internal audit recommendations within the department.
12. Responsible for preparing a monthly creditor analysis report to be incorporated into the FIC Board report.
Cash flow:
13. To manage the cash management function of the Trust, reviewing the cash flow forecast and the investment of short-term cash surpluses with the National Loans Fund daily and ensuring that the assumptions underpinning the forecasts are appropriate.
14. To perform the treasury management role in the absence of the relevant finance officer.
Monthly Work:
15. To ensure that all Financial Accounts control accounts are reconciled on a timely basis and that all errors are corrected promptly
16. To prepare the monthly financial return of the Trusts performance against its targets for income and expenditure, capital, cash flow, cost reduction programme and Better Payment Practice Code to NHS Improvement
17. To calculate the performance figures for the Better Payment Practice Code each month and for inclusion in the returns.
18. To investigate and understand the reconciling differences between the valuation of pharmacy stock per the pharmacy JAC system and the financial system.
19. To manage the calculation and input of highly complex financial accruals of significant expenditure lines, including purchase order creditor accruals, invoice registration accruals, agency and /bank staff accruals / ensuring accurate reconciliation of source data and timely completion.
20. To manage the preparation of highly complex income accruals to ensure the reporting of trust income is complete and accurate, and that invoices for services provided by the trust are raised on a timely basis and in accordance with the credit policy.
21. To develop improved processes to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of the highly complex accrual methodologies applied to account for expenditure.
22. To manage the administration and accounting for the various salary sacrifice schemes operated by the trust, ensuring accurate reconciliations are performed of deductions and payments.
23. To provide advice and support to the Head of Technical Accounting and Site Chief Financial Officer in improving transaction workflows and accounting procedures within financial services
24. To supervise cashiering staff in the completion of their responsibilities
25. To ensure that written procedures are in place for all key processes performed by the section and to maintain the internal controls over those key processes
26. To maintain departmental storage and retrieval systems
27. Oversee the preparation of reports of transactions exceeding £25,000 for publication on the Trust website, and provide accurate and timely information in response to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.
28. Provide support to the other members of the Financial Accounts team in carrying out tasks related to financial and capital accounting, ensuring alignment with departmental objectives and priorities, and assisting as required by the Line Manager, Head or Deputy Head of Technical Accounting, Chief Financial Officer, or Finance Director.
29.
Lead Specialist:
30. To provide general technical accounting advice to other sections of the Finance department, including Income, Payroll and Management Accounts.
31. To perform project work as requested by the Head of Technical Accounting and Site Chief Financial Officer
32. To advise on the VAT status of certain transactions and, on occasion, refer to the Trusts external VAT advisers.
Management:
33. To manage own workload and the work of junior staff to achieve agreed annual objectives set by the Head of Technical Accounting, working within broad professional policies.
34. To prepare the monthly timetable for the Financial Accounts team to ensure its deadlines are met.
35. To prepare and monitor the monthly reconciliation checklist to ensure all control accounts are reconciled and all errors are cleared on a monthly basis.
36. To authorise the positive reporting for cashiers and financial accounts.
37. To ensure that work is performed in accordance with Trust policies and procedures without direct supervision
38. To ensure that Trust cheques and BAC passwords are securely stored and generated in accordance with Trust procedures.
39. To provide supervision and training to Finance trainees and other team members.
40. To develop and maintain Financial Accounting practices and procedures in response to changes in national accounting standards and Trust policy
Person Specification
Qualifications Essential
Educated to degree level or equivalent CCAB part-qualified Experience in NHS Capital and Financial Accounts at senior level. To be actively pursuing and able to provide evidence of continued professional education and development
Desirable
CCAB qualified
Experience Essential
Extensive experience in the preparation of the statutory annual accounts process and a range of other financial service, including capital, and treasury management Experience of NHSI statutory Returns Experience of staff management
Desirable
Substantial post qualification experience of NHS Financial Services Experience in Oracle Finance System
Knowledge Essential
Knowledge on International Financial Reporting Standards and International Accounting Standards Strong in accounting double entry concept In-depth knowledge of financial and capital accounting procedures
Desirable
Knowledge of Accounting Standards Awareness of current NHS finance issues
Skills Essential
Ability to lead and motivate teams Ability to deliver change working with internal and external stakeholders The ability to influence and persuade others, creating successful and effective working relationships through strong, positive, professional interpersonal skills and excellent written and oral communication skills. Excellent spreadsheet and database modelling skills and the ability to design and develop information systems to support the needs of the department Ability to understand, analyse and manipulate highly complex data and information into business intelligence Excellent organisation skills with the ability to prioritise and always ensure that high quality, timely work is produced Ability to provide and convey highly complex and/or contentious information to large groups Ability to deploy influencing strategies to bring about change and modernisation of services Flexibility, and the ability to handle a rapidly changing and ambiguous environment
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.
Employer details Employer name St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Address St Georges Hospital
Blackshaw Road
London
SW17 0QT
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.stgeorges.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)