Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Assistant Financial Accountant
The closing date is 29 May 2026
An exciting opportunity has become available within the Finance Department at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
The position of Assistant Financial Accountant will be based at Knowsley Community College and will be full time (37.5 hours).
Job responsibilities
Accounts Receivable / Debt Management
* Lead debt management calls between the Trust and NHS Shared Business Services, agreeing action points.
* Negotiate with customers to recover debt in a timely manner.
* Prepare management reports/analysis for Accounts Receivable to aid decision‑making, using advanced Excel skills such as lookups and pivot tables.
* Make suggestions on debt write‑offs in line with debt management policy.
* Deal with upset customers who may have financial difficulties in paying an invoice.
* Plan workload with the team, setting key performance targets.
* Provide performance feedback, coaching and training to the team.
* Assist with Freedom of Information requests.
* Support internal and external audits, ensuring data requests and any recommendations are acted upon.
Balance‑sheet reconciliations
* Reconcile control accounts of the Trust on a monthly basis.
* Follow up on queries and monitor control accounts managed by other staff to ensure accurate and timely handling.
* Assist in preparing reports and information for year‑end accounts, ensuring evidence for auditors is available.
* Answer queries from finance colleagues, other staff and sometimes the public.
Clinical and professional responsibilities
* Maintain professional registrations as required.
* Adhere to the relevant code of practice of the professional body.
Administrative responsibilities
* Complete and adhere to all procedure notes and associated forms in line with departmental policy and audit requirements.
Teaching and training responsibilities
* Actively participate in the annual performance development review to identify personal needs.
* Teach and train Accounts Receivable staff and other staff members as necessary.
* Attend Trust statutory and mandatory training sessions.
Line management / supervisory responsibilities
* Deputise for the Deputy Financial Accountant as required.
* Undertake annual performance development reviews of Accounts Receivable staff.
* Day‑to‑day management of Accounts Receivable staff (e.g., sickness recording, approval of annual leave).
Person Specification
Qualifications
* Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) Level 4 Diploma in Professional Accounting and/or education or significant experience to degree level.
Knowledge and Experience
* Supervisory experience.
* Evidence of planning and organising tasks required to achieve a specific outcome within a specified timeframe without direction from line manager.
* Experience of analysing, interpreting and presenting complex data and producing robust forecasts.
* Highly computer literate, including MS Word, Excel, extracting data and manipulating complex spreadsheets.
* Significant financial accounting experience.
* Experience of working in NHS finance.
* Experience of the Oracle General Ledger System including Business Intelligence.
* Experience of providing training and support to others in own specialist area.
Skills
* Good standard of communication skills, including ability to effectively communicate complex financial information to non‑finance managers.
* Act professionally in all dealings with colleagues and external bodies, adapting style appropriately to liaise diplomatically with senior personnel.
* Good standard of written communications.
* Excellent problem‑solving and analytical skills.
* Well organised, able to plan and prioritise own workload.
* Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines.
* Ability to support change.
* Ability to handle a range of emotive situations.
* Ability to manage conflicting priorities.
* Requirement to concentrate for long periods when inputting data and analysing data/statistics.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and, as such, a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) is required to check for any previous criminal convictions.
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