Finance Assistant - Financial Control

The Methodist Church in Britain; Preston; On-site; GBP 22,000 - 28,000; Full time

Job summary

Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board is seeking a Finance Assistant to support the Finance department with accounts receivable and payables, processing invoices and manual payments, applying coding and running routine credit control.

The role involves setting up provider and supplier accounts, resolving queries with providers, clinical teams and commissioners, and traveling across the system as required to support financial operations.

Qualifications

• Five GCSEs or equivalent at grade C / 4 or above, including English and Mathematics.
• Accounts payable, accounts receivable, invoice processing or financial administration experience.
• Working with financial systems, coding structures, spreadsheets and basic reports.
• Communicating with providers, suppliers and staff to resolve routine queries.
• Routine credit control, debtor monitoring or overdue account queries by phone and email.

Responsibilities

• Process invoices, payment schedules and supporting documents through the financial ledger in line with procedures and timetables.
• Undertake accounts receivable work, including clearing receipts and unallocated cash, reviewing aged debt and carrying out credit control by phone and email.
• Investigate and resolve invoice, supplier, provider and scheduled payment queries; escalate complex cases.
• Receive, validate and process manual payments, including patient claims and medical fees.
• Apply correct financial coding, including general ledger codes and cost centres.
• Set up and amend customer, provider and supplier accounts with audit trails.
• Carry out routine statement reconciliations and investigate variances and outstanding balances.
• Maintain ledger notes and audit trails covering invoices, queries, approvals and follow-ups.
• Chase providers and internal teams for outstanding information to support payment.
• Use spreadsheets and system reports to support invoice validation and payment processing.
• Support month-end and year-end financial timetables.
• Support local finance procedures and continuous improvement.

Skills

Numerical skills

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Teamwork

Education

Five GCSEs including English and Mathematics

Tools

Excel

Word

Outlook

Teams

Oracle / ISFE2

Job description

This Finance Assistant post sits in the Finance department of Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board and covers both accounts receivable and payables. The work centres on processing invoices and manual payments, applying financial coding, running routine credit control and setting up provider and supplier accounts, with queries taken through to resolution. The remit is expected to change as the ICB develops, and the role involves regular contact with providers, clinical teams and commissioners. Candidates must be able to travel across the system as required.

What the job involves

• Process invoices, payment schedules and supporting documents through the financial ledger in line with agreed procedures and timetables
• Undertake accounts receivable work, including clearing receipts and unallocated cash, reviewing aged debt and carrying out credit control by phone and email
• Investigate and resolve invoice, supplier, provider and scheduled payment queries, escalating complex cases to senior colleagues
• Receive, validate and process manual payments, including patient claims and medical fees
• Apply correct financial coding, including general ledger codes and cost centres
• Set up and amend customer, provider and supplier accounts within documented validation and segregation-of-duties controls
• Carry out routine statement reconciliations and investigate variances, discrepancies and outstanding balances
• Keep clear ledger notes and audit trails covering invoices, queries, approvals and follow-up actions
• Chase providers and internal teams for outstanding information needed to resolve queries and support payment
• Use spreadsheets and system reports to support invoice validation, payment processing and management information
• Support month-end and year-end financial timetables
• Support local finance procedures and continuous improvement, and monitor and action generic team mailboxes

Qualifications

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

Experience

• Accounts payable, accounts receivable, invoice processing, patient claim processing or financial administration
• Working with financial systems, coding structures, spreadsheets and basic reports
• Communicating with providers, suppliers and staff to resolve routine queries
• Routine credit control, debtor monitoring or overdue account queries by phone and email
• Setting up or maintaining customer, provider or supplier accounts with supporting documents and audit trails
• Keeping accurate records and meeting deadlines in a busy finance or office environment

Skills & knowledge

• Good numeric and analytical skills, with attention to detail, for invoice processing, query resolution and reconciliation
• Good verbal and written communication, with a professional phone and email manner
• Organising and prioritising own workload to deadlines, working as part of a team and on own initiative
• Good computer literacy, particularly Excel, Word, Outlook and Teams

Other

• Resilient, adaptable and calm under pressure
• Reliability, personal credibility and professional integrity
• Commitment to continuous improvement, and willing to undertake any necessary training
• Ability to travel across the system as required
• Ability to work flexibly to meet 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