Business Advice and Planning
Through the provision of expert, high quality, timely, financial and business advice, the Care Group Accountant will take lead responsibility for the Clinical Care Groups' use of financial resources and the achievement of the Care Groups' financial objectives. This will assist the Care Groups in achieving their activity, access, quality, and workforce targets as set by the Trust Board through the operational planning framework. More specifically, this will include advising on:
1. The financial and economic implications of national and local policies, targets, and procedures.
2. The development and implementation of longer-term operational and financial planning consistent with current spending review settlements for the NHS.
3. Development of schemes to support delivery of their Improving Quality Eliminating Waste targets (IQEW).
4. Supporting the care group in actively pursuing opportunities to increase and protect income and market share, including the accurate assessment of income and expenditure implications of proposed service developments or growth.
Financial Control
The Care Group Accountant will maintain the Trust's financial performance framework, ensuring financial control at Care Group and Departmental level through:
1. Ensuring the care group is aware, adequately trained, and adheres to the Standing Financial Instructions of the trust.
2. Monitoring actual performance against income, expenditure, and cost reduction targets.
3. Forecasting future performance and assessing associated financial risk.
4. Concise and accurate reporting of financial performance to Care Group Management and the Trust Board to assist decision-making at all levels.
5. Disseminating key messages to Care Group and Departmental staff, including challenging relevant individuals when required.
6. Development and implementation of action plans to address poor performance.
7. Escalation to senior management where performance does not improve or where financial risk is increasing despite measures being put in place.
Efficiency and Productivity Improvement
The Care Group Accountant will actively seek opportunities to drive improvements expected by the Trust Board in clinical efficiency and productivity, assisting Care Groups in developing and implementing strategies to achieve these aims, for example through:
1. The continued development and usage of Patient Level Information and Costing (PLICS) through clinical engagement to provide robust financial intelligence at granular service level and individual patient level.
2. Identification of areas of waste and inefficiency.
3. Benchmarking against best practice.
4. Development of care group scorecards.
Management of the Finance Team
The Care Group Accountant will supervise, manage, and motivate the financial management team to ensure delivery of high quality and timely financial advice and information. More specifically, this will include:
1. Leading on staff appointment, development, training, and education including annual appraisals, giving advice and guidance on career development, and contributing to the professional training of team members via the Financial Management Training Scheme.
2. Leading, alongside the other Care Group and Corporate Accountants, a process of continuous improvement at all levels in the department, contributing to increased productivity within the team, and improving the quality and usefulness of financial and business advice and information provided to the Clinical Care Groups and Corporate Divisional teams.
Other Corporate Finance Responsibilities
To lead the annual budget setting process for their areas of responsibility, ensuring that budgets reflect service requirements while staying within the Trust's projected resources. To ensure compliance with the requirements and deadlines for key financial returns such as Annual Accounts, Monitor plans and returns, Reference Costs, Tariff Road Testing, freedom of information requests, and liaison with internal/external audit. To contribute to the development of Service Line Management through Service Line Reporting, care group and departmental P&Ls, and patient level costing. To contribute to the development of the financial skills and business awareness of clinical staff to maximize improvement potential in clinical quality, operational efficiency, and financial performance resulting from decisions made at care group level. To perform any other duties as may be delegated from time to time.
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