Assistant Cost Accountant

NHS; Carlisle; On-site; GBP 27,000 - 38,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional healthcare trust is seeking an Assistant Cost Accountant to support financial reporting and analysis. The role involves preparing service line reports, assisting with national cost collections, and promoting financial awareness among trust staff. Candidates should have an AAT qualification, experience in finance, and strong Excel skills. This position is a fantastic opportunity to contribute to impactful healthcare services and offers a salary range of £27,485 to £37,796 based on experience.

Benefits

27-day holiday scheme

NHS Discounts

Salary Sacrifice schemes

Qualifications

• AAT qualification or demonstrable equivalent experience.
• Significant practical experience in finance roles.
• Good knowledge of NHS costing methodologies and standards.

Responsibilities

• Prepare regular service line reports.
• Assist with annual National Cost Collection.
• Contribute to the production of quarterly Service Line Reports.

Skills

Communication skills

Advanced Excel skills

Financial analysis

Teamwork

SQL Skills

Education

AAT qualification or equivalent

Good general education including Maths and English

Actively studying for CCAB/CIMA qualification

Tools

Microsoft Office

Computerised ledger systems

Job description

Go back North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust

Assistant Cost Accountant

The closing date is 03 October 2025

The post holder will prepare regular service line reports and contribute to future development of service line reporting.

The post holder will assist with the production of the annual National Cost Collection, Service Line reporting through maintaining the PLICS (Patient Level Information and Costing system) and other national returns and subsequent related analysis and management information. It will be necessary to interpret and apply national guidance in relation to these submissions.

The post holder will assist in the promotion of financial awareness to Trust management and staff.

The post holder will assist in supporting the Cost Accountant and Lead Cost Accountant who in turn support the collaborative structure at NCIC with reporting on the cost base of services and using benchmarking data. In addition, the post holder will be supporting the Information Analyst with data feeds for the Trust, identifying data quality issues and opportunities to improve.

The post holder will have a good background in Finance, preferably AAT qualified, and be adept at using a range of finance and information systems and be proficient in the use of MS Excel. Displaying good communication skills to discuss income and costing issues with a range of staff.

The post holder will be expected to work on their own initiative by planning and organising their own workload in order to meet set deadlines. But also needs to work well as a team to meet numerous deadlines.

Main duties of the job

Assist with Statutory Returns production and verification as required

Assist with the production of quarterly Service Line Reports working closely with other teams to identify Activity and costs.

Liaise with care group and clinical colleagues to improve operational and clinical understanding and respond to queries from care group and service managers.

Maintain an awareness of all key Trust-wide financial issues and contribute to the achievement of the Trust's financial targets.

Maintain a knowledge of national and NHS accounting regulations

Maintain a working knowledge of national costing standards for all Trust operating and service sectors.

Undertake appropriate reconciliation of data reported in statutory and non-statutory submissions

Responsible for development and maintenance of documentation for procedures undertaken, ensuring that they accurately reflect current practice.

Prepare ad hoc reports and analysis for the Cost Accountant and Lead Costing Accountant

About us

At NCIC, we have an ambition to deliver outstanding hospital and health services to half a million people. Established on 1st October 2019, the Trust is creating a centre of excellence in providing rural and remote healthcare and provides a wide range of community and acute services throughout North Cumbria and beyond. We're responsible for delivering over 70 services across 15 main locations and we employ more than 6,500 members of staff.

Our 5 key principles demonstrate our belief in the delivery of 'safe, high quality care every time'.

• Being a clinically led organisation
• Quality and safety at the heart
• A positive patient experience every time
• A great place to work
• Managing our money well

As an organisation we are serious about supporting a diverse workforce that reflects our local community and are very much focused on being an inclusive and compassionate place to work.

Across the North East and North Cumbria we are working together to deliver our ambition to be the greenest region in England by 2030. All staff are expected to support sustainability.

Job responsibilities

Please see attached job description and person specification for further information regarding the role and the essential and desirable criteria required to be met by applicants.

Please note, due to changes implemented by the Government to the UK immigration policy, individuals who require a Health and Care Visa or a Skilled Worker Visa may no longer be eligible for sponsorship where the UKVI salary threshold is not met or if the occupation is not included in the updated Immigration Salary List (ISL). Applicants must check their eligibility to be employed in any role they are interested in applying for, prior to completing an application for employment.Any applicants who do not meet the eligibility criteria will not be progressed. For further information visit theUK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

If you are applying under the Disability Confident Scheme or Armed Forces Covenant and you meet all the essential criteria for a post, you will be guaranteed an interview.

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.

The cost of the DBS must be met by the successful candidate(s) through salary deduction. DBS charges are as follows if applicable to the post:

Standard Check: £21.50 + Administration cost of £5.90 = £27.40. Deducted from salary over a 4 month period or a one-off payment.

Enhanced Check: £49.50 + administration cost of £5.90 = £55.40. Deducted from salary over a 4 month period or a one-off payment.

NCIC can offer successful future employees the following benefits:

27-day holiday scheme rising to 33 after 10 years

NHS Discounts*

Salary Sacrifice schemes including lease cars and Cycle to Work*

Vivup is a free, confidential counselling and information service to assist with personal or work-related problems

*Subject to eligibility

Please ensure that you document evidence of meeting all the essential criteria in the supporting information.

If sufficient response is received this post could be closed earlier than the specified closing date, please apply as soon as possible to ensure that your application is considered.

Candidates who have been successfully shortlisted for interview will be asked via an email notification to log on to their Trac account to select an interview time. This will usually be within 2 weeks of the closing date.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Certificate level/Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) member, or demonstrable experience of successfully performing a substantially similar role to degree level
• Good general education including Maths and English at GCSE level or equivalent
• Actively studying towards higher CCAB/CIMA qualification
• ECDL or equivalent.

Knowledge and Experience

• Significant practical experience working in finance roles
• Working effectively in a team and on own initiative
• Undertaking financial analysis. Preparation of complex written and numeric reports.
• Application of national guidance
• Computerised ledger systems.
• Good knowledge of Microsoft Office
• Knowledge of accounting concepts, e.g. accruals, prepayments, debtors and creditors.
• Understanding of internal financial control systems.
• Demonstrable knowledge of technical accounting issues, e.g. VAT
• Costing experience
• Awareness of NHS costing methodologies and standards
• Knowledge of costing systems
• Advanced Excel skills
• Have used AI tools and developed skills in this area in addition to knowledge of how AI will impact Finance in the NHS
• SQL Skills
• Self-motivated, proactive and flexible.
• Ability to use initiative appropriately.
• Ability to work accurately to deadlines and under pressure, and prioritise workloads.
• Ability to frequently switch between tasks as priorities and deadlines change.
• Ability to concentrate for long periods of time on data input and analytical tasks.
• Advanced IT and spreadsheet skills, with ability to create and maintain complex spreadsheets to reconcile, analyse and manipulate large volumes of data.
• Ability to analyse, manipulate and present complex information using a range of analytical and IT skills.
• Ability to identify and resolve errors and discrepancies.
• Ability to interpret and apply national guidance.
• Ability to work with non-finance staff.
• Good communication skills in order to explain complex financial issues and procedures and to convey financial Good personal skills Good organisation and planning skills Project experience information to both a finance and non-finance audience.
• Ability to raise queries and discuss with budget holders adverse performance which is not being satisfactorily addressed.
• Good personal skills
• Good organisation and planning skills

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.

North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust

£27,485 to £37,796 a yearPA Pro Rata, Salary dependent upon experience and training needs.