Finance assistant – Acute Finance

The Methodist Church in Britain; Preston; On-site; GBP 21,000 - 26,000; Full time

Job summary

The NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board is seeking a Finance Assistant for the Acute Finance team. You will check and process acute provider and supplier invoices, code invoices, and support month-end activities, ensuring accurate Oracle/ISFE2 records and clear audit trails.

Responsibilities include resolving overdue queries by phone and email, maintaining supplier accounts, and contributing to process improvements while meeting tight deadlines in a busy finance environment.

Qualifications

• Five GCSEs or equivalent at grade C/4 or above, including English and Mathematics.
• Experience with accounts payable, invoice processing or financial administration.
• Strong Excel and data entry skills to support processing and reporting.
• Good verbal and written communication with internal stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Process and validate acute provider invoices, contract and non-contract activity, IFRs and mandate payments.
• Challenge invalid claims and resolve provider and supplier queries.
• Maintain supplier and provider accounts and accurate Oracle/ISFE2 records.
• Code invoices and payments and process credit notes.
• Reconcile statements and chase evidence and credit notes.
• Support month-end and year-end processes and reporting.
• Maintain complete system records and audit trails.
• Protect confidential data in line with information governance.
• Analyse data to support invoice processing and reconciliation.
• Build relationships with stakeholders and keep them updated.
• Improve finance procedures and maintain procedure notes.
• Prioritise workload, adapt to process changes and undertake other duties as the role evolves.

Skills

Accounts payable

Invoice processing

Excel

Communication

Education

GCSEs incl English/Maths

Tools

Oracle/ISFE2

Job description

This Finance Assistant post sits in the Acute Finance team at NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board, reporting to the Senior Professional Lead Acute. The work centres on checking and processing acute provider and supplier invoices, including contract and non-contract activity, funding requests and mandate payments, and keeping supplier accounts and Oracle/ISFE2 records accurate. The role involves regular contact with ICB staff, local stakeholders and providers, and resolving overdue account queries by phone and email. Fit depends on practical accounts payable or invoice processing experience.

What the job involves

• Process and validate acute provider invoices, contract and non-contract activity, IFRs and mandate payments
• Challenge invalid claims and resolve provider and supplier queries
• Maintain supplier and provider accounts and accurate Oracle/ISFE2 records
• Code invoices and payments and process credit notes
• Reconcile statements and chase evidence and credit notes
• Support month-end and year-end processes and reporting
• Maintain complete system records and audit trails
• Protect confidential data in line with information governance
• Analyse data to support invoice processing and reconciliation
• Build relationships with stakeholders and keep them updated
• Improve finance procedures and maintain procedure notes
• Prioritise workload, adapt to process changes and undertake other duties as the role evolves

Qualifications

• Five GCSEs or equivalent at grade C / 4 or above, including English and Mathematics

Experience

• Practical experience of accounts payable, accounts receivable, invoice processing or financial administration
• Experience with financial systems, coding structures, spreadsheets and basic reports
• Experience communicating with providers, suppliers and stakeholders, including routine overdue queries by phone and email
• Setting up or maintaining customer, provider or supplier accounts with supporting documentation and audit trails
• Maintaining accurate records and working to deadlines in a busy finance environment

Skills & knowledge

• Good knowledge of working in a busy finance office
• Good verbal and written communication, with a professional phone and email manner
• Numeric and analytical skills to analyse figures for invoice processing, query resolution and reconciliation, with attention to detail
• Organising, prioritising and managing own workload to deadlines and service standards
• Good computer literacy, particularly Excel, Word, Outlook and Teams
• Working as part of a team and on own initiative, with proactive problem solving

Other

• Resilient, adaptable and calm under pressure
• Personal credibility, reliability and professional integrity
• Commitment to continuous improvement and innovation, and willingness to undertake necessary training
• Ability to travel across the system and work flexibly to organisational priorities

Nice to have

• AAT Foundation Certificate / Level 2 or equivalent experience in finance, accounts payable or financial administration
• Previous NHS finance experience
• Knowledge of Oracle / ISFE2 or NHS finance systems
• Experience contributing to process improvements or maintaining local procedure notes
• Understanding of NHS administrative processes or governance frameworks
• Knowledge of record keeping standards, confidentiality and data protection