Assistant Income and Costing Accountant

Job summary

The post holder will assist the Income and Contracting Team in the day-to-day management and reporting of Income from patient care activities, plus other operating Income. The post holder will acquire an overall knowledge of NHS finance and a good understanding of Income, in particular the NHS Payment Scheme mechanism and Costing, and assisting with the completion of quarterly Service Line Reporting (SLR).

The JD & PS are currently under AfC review and are subject to change.

Main duties of the job

• To ensure that procedure notes are kept up to date and accurately reflect current practice.
• To manage own workload and ensure that work is delivered within the team's timetabled dates.
• To be a valuable member of the Trust's Finance Department and contribute to the delivery of its overall objectives.
• To establish and maintain effective working relationships with other individuals of the Directorate, other employees of the Trust, colleagues from other NHS organisations, and officers from other agencies to ensure the delivery of a professional service focused on achieving a high level of customer satisfaction.
• Responsible for the maintenance of Income in the General Ledger, though accruals and adjustments, to ensure that all contractual and non-contract income is accounted for correctly. Using Oracle and Business Intelligence reports, such as transaction reports, to verify that information is being reported correctly.

About us

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 10,500 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.

Our services:

Acute Care

Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.

Primary Care

Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.

Community Services

Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.

Specialist Regional Services

We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.

Achievements:

• Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
• Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
• National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme.

Job responsibilities

Please see attached job description and person specification for main responsibilities and requirements.

Person specification

Our Values

Essential

• We are Kind
• We are Open
• We are Inclusive

Qualifications

Essential

• AAT Level 4 (Technician) or equivalent qualification
• GCSE Maths - Grade 9-4 (A*-C) or equivalent

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

• Good communication and interpersonal skills, able to maintain effective working relationships, both internal and external to the Directorate/ICB's
• Strong IT skills, intermediate level experience using Microsoft Office suite and accurate keyboard skills.
• Understanding of accountancy policies, procedures and relevant legislation
• Experience of General Ledgers.
• Experience of working within a Finance department

Desirable

• Knowledge of the Oracle General Ledger system
• Experience using Civica SLAM
• Knowledge of Department of Health invoicing guidance
• Knowledge of NHS Payment by Results guidance
• Knowledge of National Cost Collection (NCC) and Patient level Costing (PLICS)

Skills

Essential

• Ability to analyse, investigate and interpret financial information and queries
• Well organised, able to prioritise own workload and able to be flexible to deliver to tight deadlines
• The ability to concentrate for prolonged periods and switch between task
• The ability to adhere to statutory financial regulations and NHS rules

Desirable

• Ability to report and present financial information to both finance and non-finance individuals (internal and external)

Other

Essential

• Identifies and takes responsibility for own personal development and learning through the PDP process.
• Able to develop and use IT appropriately to meet given objectives.
• Presents a positive and professional image of the directorate