Job vacancy: Financial Accountant, Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Milton Keynes

Job summary

Main area: Financial Services
Grade: Band 7
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full time - 37.5 hours per week
Job ref: 430-CORP26-625A

Employer: Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type: NHS
Site: Finance - Financial Services (Dept)
Town: Milton Keynes
Salary: £49,387 - £56,515 Per annum
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 24/09/2026 23:59

Financial Accountant

Band 7

At Milton Keynes University Hospital, you will be welcomed into a friendly and supportive environment where teamwork and respect are at the heart of everything we do. We are proud to live our Trust values and behaviours every day, creating a culture where everyone feels heard and valued.

MKUH staff's Motivation and Involvement scores are among the highest in our peer group, showing that our people feel inspired and included in decision-making (Staff Survey, 2024).

Our benefits

We believe in recognising and rewarding the amazing contribution of our staff and that is why we offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your wellbeing, work-life balance, and professional growth, including:

Free on-site parking including EV charging
Complimentary refreshments
Flexible working arrangements
Discounted gym membership
Salary sacrifice car scheme
Generous annual leave, with the option to bank holiday entitlement
Membership of the NHS Pension Scheme
On-site nursery (charges apply)
A wide-ranging staff health and wellbeing programme including EAP
VIVUP products to support your mental, physical, and financial Wellbeing

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

'NHS Staff Survey 2024' They feel supported in their employers making reasonable adjustments to help them carry out their work, rating an 82.9%

Lead on the planning and production of the working papers and TAC schedules for the Trust’s statutory in year and annual accounts, in line with International Financial Reporting Standards and applying NHS guidelines as set out by NHSI.
Lead on populating the monthly NHSI PFR returns in line with submission deadlines.
Oversee and review the NHS agreement of balances exercise in year and for the annual accounts process
Provide detailed working papers in support of the audit process and resolve queries from Auditors.
Liaise, where necessary, with Auditors, on technical accounting issues
Lead on the coordination of the month end process for financial accounting, ensuring all tasks are completed on time per the month end timetable.
You will be a professionally qualified accountant or actively studying towards a CCAB qualification and have experience of working in Financial Services. Previous experience of working in a public sector organisation and experience of the NHS is highly desirable

Please refer to the Job Description for further details.

Person specification

Qualifications and knowledge

Essential criteria

Educated to degree level in a relevant subject (e.g. accountancy or financial discipline) or equivalent knowledge and experience.
Professional CCAB Accountant qualification finalist/part qualified
Up-to-date knowledge and experience of financial reporting Standards.

Experience

Essential criteria

Experience of producing annual accounts in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards [IFRS] and statutory requirements.
Able to ensure target dates are adhered to through organisation of own workload.
Demonstrate excellent communication skills, and be able to communicate both verbally and in writing complex, technical, sensitive or contentious financial information, to Finance Managers and Committees.
In depth knowledge of financial and accounting procedures.
Significant experience of capital accounting using a capital asset system including provision of working papers for statutory accounts.
Through significant experience, demonstrate excellent Financial Analysis and Interpretation skills including an ability interpret complex data and provide summarized information to a range of users.
Expert analytical and reasoning skills supported by attention to detail and the ability manage and manipulate vast quantities of data
Demonstrable experience of liaising with Internal and External Auditors.
Experience of managing, motivating and developing staff

Desirable criteria

Some relevant experience of working in an NHS organization.
Production of NHS accounts.
Advanced IT literacy with experience of using Oracle accounting system including Business Intelligence reporting.
Experience of NHS VAT rules

Skills

Essential criteria

Proven ability to prioritise and delegate in a demanding environment and to tight deadlines
Strong analytical, financial reporting, and presentation skills with the ability to present complex issues clearly and concisely
The desire to accept ownership and accountability, whilst getting things done well and meeting challenging goals
The ability to think ahead and decide on courses of action, ensuring that the resources required to implement the action will be available, and scheduling work required to achieve an end result
Skills for managing people ensuring they perform to a high standard and meet team objectives and deadlines.
Ability to demonstrate initiative and analyse areas of work to identify those which would benefit from continuous improvement.
Able to interpret guidelines and implement appropriate changes to working practices.
Strong IT skills particularly spreadsheets
Prepared to challenge and be challenged.
Ability to work flexibly to meet the needs of the service depending on monthly, quarterly and annual cycles.

Personal and people development

Essential criteria

The ability to originate, introduce and be open to, new practices, concepts, ideas and change and to continuously improve.
Be able to manage time effectively, prioritise and deliver to agreed deadlines
Be prepared to constructively question and challenge the performance of team members, and other stakeholders
Frequent requirement for concentration when inputting data, checking and reconciling information, making calculations and when answering queries from staff, audit and managers
Often required to switch tasks at short notice.
Frequent requirement for prolonged concentration when analysing complex data and preparing reports
Leads by example and instils a team approach to workload.

Communication

Essential criteria

Excellent interpersonal skills
The ability to work co-operatively and flexibly with others, both within and outside the organisation, demonstrating an understanding of effective team working and partnerships
Good communication skills, written and verbal, with ability to demonstrate fluency, clarity and effectiveness at all levels.
Ability to represent Finance at internal meetings
Ability to explain complex financial terminology to both finance and non-finance colleagues

Specific requirements

Essential criteria

Able to perform the duties of the post with reasonable aids and adaptations
Proactive, flexible, enthusiastic, confident and highly motivated individual who demonstrates a commitment to Trust objectives and the NHS as a whole

We believe success lies in the diversity of our employees and are committed to promoting equality, encouraging diversity and embracing inclusion. We welcome applications from everyone interested in working for us.

We reserve the right to expire vacancies prior to the advertised closing date once a sufficient number of applications have been received.

MKUH uses identification scanning technology to confirm the authenticity of documents; all prospective employees of MKUH will have their original documents verified using this technology.

By applying for this role, you accept if successful, that information from your application will be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Record (ESR) system. Your personal data may be transferred from the Trust to another NHS organisation where your employment transfers within the NHS. This is in accordance with the streamlining programme which aims at saving you time and improving efficiencies within the NHS when your employment transfers.

Applications, offers of employment and contracts may be withdrawn or terminated if it is found that fraudulent statements were made or fraudulent documents provided during the recruitment process. Additional possible consequences include referral to professional bodies or criminal sanctions.