Emma Castle

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to streamline financial and reporting operations and enhance efficiency, such as through the creation of working monthly capital cycle accounts receivable, accounts payable and cash management reports.
• Review monthly balance sheet accounts for accuracy and outstanding balance resolution. Including review of the SOFP (Statement of Financial Position) report balances and provision of insight and commentary to the Senior Finance Team for informed decision making.
• Co-ordinate and contribute to quarterly and year end close down procedures such as production of the Agreement of Balances reconciliations, ensuring ledger discrepancies are resolved with counter parties, to maintain an accurate ledger.
• Handle financial data and complex transactions with diligence, integrity and ethical decision-making based on strong financial principles, including correctly recording transactions and forecasts in the Agreement of Balances and daily cashflow models.
• Cultivate excellent relationships with stakeholders, such as suppliers and other NHS Trusts, GP Practices and wider organisations such as the PCSE and SBS to discuss working practices, resolve issues and meet national reporting timescales and organisational KPIs.
• Review and improve internal controls to mitigate financial risks and safeguard assets, such as reducing negative creditor and debtor balances, alongside ensuring payments are processed in a timely manner to achieve the 1.25% cashflow balance.
• Attend the strategic Senior Finance Team meeting and participate in daily local Finance Team meetings to discuss concerns, goals and areas of improvement through standardisation and streamlining to minimise waste and improve efficiency.
• Support the new accounting software recent rollout to help improve data accuracy and reporting capabilities, whilst training and building confidence in colleagues to use the system.
• Other tasks involve reviewing VAT and VAT recovery, processing Payroll, GP Pensions and payment runs.

Senior Finance and Performance Officer in Highways formed part of a promotion secondment. Responsibilities included:

· Budget monitoring, journal transfers and maintenance of Highways capital projects on the SAP accounting system through reflecting current budget and slippage of schemes.

· Maintenance of the S106 database and application of S106 budget to Highways projects.

· Challenging of Project Managers on expenditure and commitments regarding schemes and escalating key messages to Senior Managers through the monthly reporting of projected outturn.

· Presentation of the Highways capital monitor at the monthly Highways board meetings and training Project Managers in monthly and year-end financial procedures.

· Completion of grant returns to the Department for Transport on income and expenditure.

A period of maternity leave was taken during this role from June 2015 to April 2016

Creation of budget monitors, data modelling and contract costing associated with School Meals contracts. Responding to Freedom of Information requests and grant returns to the Education Funding Agency. Monitoring of school redundancy payments. Key contact of general school budget enquiries and maintenance of the school budget database. Budget preparation and year end closedown.

Creation of budget monitor reports and preparation of budget transfers. Involvement with Budget Preparation and journaling expenditure and income. Other duties include preparing reports for Teachers Pensions TR17, Revenue Account/Outturn RA/RO (Revenue Actuals/Outturn) forms to CLEAPSS’ annual accounts. Meeting Budget Holders and external clients for example Meals on Wheels and WRVS. Creation and maintenance of the Total Performance Monitor. Year end closedown of accounts. Raising sales invoices and purchase orders.

Creation of budget monitor reports and preparation of budget transfers. Staff costings and ad hoc reports using SAP on cost centres and staff drilldowns. Year end closedown of accounts. Responding to enquiries from the Youth Service regarding their accounts and payroll. Raising invoices and credit notes. Administration of the S102 payroll system. Journaling of income and expenditure.

Liaising with vendors regarding invoice payments, personal records and VAT. Arranging correction payments and maintaining customer databases on SAP.