The Board’s role in ensuring adequate financial controls are in place has never been more important to the NHS. This lively and informal session identified key issues board members must address to give assurance that financial stability will be maintained, risks will be identified and that policies and procedures promote good governance.
Financial jargon and understanding financial reports was covered in detail in practical workshop sessions and the event closed with ‘Ten Questions to ask your Director of Finance’.

Comments from today’s event include (with written permission received from each):

“Excellent session.” – Julia Brown, Managing Director, Enfield Community Services
“Really good.” – Maria Da Silva, Chief Operating Officer, Whittington Healthcare
“A very useful session – pitched at right level.” – Lynn Saunders, Director of Business Development, Lewisham Healthcare NHS Trust
“Questions were very good.” – Murray Keith, Director of Strategy & Business Development, Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust

Resources

Here are the resources from the day:

Code of conduct: code of accountability in the NHS – 2nd rev ed – DH Publication
A Guide to Finance for Hospital Doctors – Audit Commission Report
Learning the Lessons from Financial Failure in the NHS – Audit Commission Report July 2006
NHS Foundation Trust Accounting Officer Memorandum – Monitor 17 April 2008
2012-02-20 The Board’s Role in Financial Control – Presentation Slides (pdf)
Jargon – 15 Jargon words or phrases in NHS Finance (pdf)

Ten Questions to ask your Director of Finance:

1. What are the main reasons for any deviation from financial plan?
2. What are the main risks to the organisation meeting its financial targets?
3. What action needs to be taken to address any deviations and potential risks?
4. What level of contingency reserve does the Finance Director have to deal with any emergencies?
5. What is the Trust’s liquidity position and how does this relate to the reported I&E position?
6. Why has the debtors/creditors figure changed?
7. What action has been taken to reduce debtors and improve cash flow?
8. What are the main risks to long term financial stability?
9. How do the Trust’s costs and performance compare to other similar trusts?
10. What steps are being taken by management to improve performance/efficiency?

Many thanks to everyone involved. Please feel free to get in contact if you have any queries or would like some support.

A pleasurable day working on the Children and Young People’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies Service (CYP IAPT) Leads Programme being delivered at Salford Cognitive Therapy Training Centre. It is part of The Children and Young People’s IAPT Project. The Children and Young people’s IAPT Project asked universities and teaching providers (HEIs) to link up with local CAMHS partnerships to come together to transform their local CAMHS. I was involved in submitting a successful bid for one partnership to transform services. It’s therefore a pleasure to follow up this work with being engaged to train service leads in business skills to transform their services.

Comments from today’s event include (with written permission received from each):

“Excellent. Well done.” – Helen Macmahon, Service Line Manager, Derbyshire Healthcare Foundation Trust
“Very informative, good presentation and much enjoyed. Thank you.” – Scott Lunn
“Made a very (potentially) complex area seem easy and learning was fun.” – Sandra Embling, Operational Manager, Central Manchester Hospitals Trust
“A very engaging speaker who actually made me feel interested and excited about NHS finance.” – Sara Barnes, Service Transformation Lead CYPIAPT, Pennine Care NHS Trust

Resources

Here are the resources from the day:

The Green Book is HM Treasury guidance for Central Government, setting out a framework for the appraisal and evaluation of all policies, programmes and projects. It sets out the key stages in the development of a proposal from the articulation of the rationale for intervention and the setting of objectives, through to options appraisal and, eventually, implementation and evaluation. It describes how the economic, financial, social and environmental assessments of a proposal should be combined and aims to ensure consistency and transparency in the appraisal process throughout government.

The Green Book

The Magenta Book is HM Treasury guidance on evaluation for Central Government, but will also be useful for all policy makers, including in local government, charities and the voluntary sectors. It sets out the key issues to consider when designing and managing evaluations, and the presentation and interpretation of evaluation results. It describes why thinking about evaluation before and during the policy design phase can help to improve the quality of evaluation results without needing to hinder the policy process.

Magenta Book

Many thanks to everyone involved.

Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust is a Trust going places as it expands its services from being a specialist mental health trust to integrate community services. Today’s The NHS Budget Holder’s Survival Guide was timely reminder of the continuing need for targeted financial training for managers and clinicians on all aspects of budgeting and finance..

Comments from today’s event include (with written permission received from each):

“A really informative session which challenged my knowledge and understanding.” – CMHT Manager
“Time went quickly. Thank you. Your manner and humour made the data more interesting and easy to understand.” – Team Leader
“The day was very interesting, useful and enjoyable. Went in a flash!” – B Hanscomb, CMHT Manager
“Extremely good day. Very informative.” – Mary James, Day Centre Manager
“Excellent – thank you.” – Sarah Hill, Deputy Manager
“Well facilitated session – kept interest in a difficult subject.” – Jo Maddin, Team Manager

Many thanks to everyone involved.

Downloads

HM Treasury – The Budget
This short video explains why the Treasury holds a Budget each year. It includes archive footage of six former Chancellors on Budget day

OECD Health Data 2011

How Does the United Kingdom Compare

Another great day at 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Trust running The NHS Budget Holder’s Survival Guide.

Comments from today’s event include (with written permission received from each):

“Very informative. Really makes you think.” – Debbie Simon, Tissue Viability Lead
“Really engaging style, made dry subject very interesting!” – Jean Parr, Provider Transformation Lead
“Excellent day – brilliant facilitator. The most interesting and informative financial study day – very relevant to role going forward.” – Bernie Carr, Locality Nurse Manager

It’s always interesting to see how staff’s confidence in interpreting financial reports can be transformed in just a day. I’ve spent two decades doing finance training within the NHS and have developed a Seven Step Method for interpreting financial reports using seven questions, making three calculations and taking no more than 15 minutes. It works every time.

Many thanks to everyone involved.

Another great day at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust running The NHS Budget Holder’s Survival Guide. It’s always a pleasure to visit Hammersmith Hospital, although the closeness of Wormwood Scrubs prison is always a little off-putting. I’ve been involved in running all guises of the Effective Ward Manager Programme and previously the Charge Nurse Programme.

Comments from today’s event include (with written permission received from each):

“It was a very good and interesting day.” – Anna Spearpoint
“I had no idea before the workshop. Now I will be able to sit in my meetings and not be scared.” – J Brown, Senior Staff Nurse
“Well organised and very good activity.” – E. Delmar, Senior Staff Nurse
“Thoroughly enjoyed the whole day and particularly the last exercise.” – Trish Ames, Sister
“Brilliant session.” – Lynn Drury, Ward Manager

Many thanks to everyone involved.

In the NHS, marketing does not always seem relevant. After all, isn’t it just about selling and advertising? Today’s Marketing Yourself and Your Service workshop in Stevenage was a fascinating insight into how useful many of the marketing techniques used outside the NHS can be in creating a patient-led NHS and in ensuring equity of service delivery. Here are just some of the comments from delegates (all reproduced with kind written permission):

“As always very thought provoking and great facilitating methods to stimulate ideas for service development.” – Liz Garood, Neuro Coordinator, Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust
“Enjoyable and interesting session, gave me lots to think about!” – Jo Catlin, SI Manager / OD PRactitioner, Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
“Good session, easy to understand and relate to my role / service.” – Sandy Hastilow, Leadership and OD Administrator, NHS Midlands and East

Some of the key documents are:

The Chartered Institute of Marketing: The real NHS: the benefits of a marketing approach
Presentation Slides: Presentation
Handouts: Questionnaires – Service and Self Assessments

Many thanks to everyone for such a positive day.

Get the skills to forecast confidently and improve financial control through financial modelling.
This one day interactive workshop is the essential practical introduction to the skills and knowledge needed by finance staff to be able to forecast successfully and to create robust and reliable financial models. It covers alternative methods of forecasting in the NHS and best practice in developing financial models.
The workshop is designed for finance staff with responsibility for forecasting and financial modelling. Engaging practical exercises are backed-up by simple theory to ensure comprehensive coverage of the topics. This workshop covers all the forecasting methods available to accountants, the reasons for poor forecasts and how to avoid them and a best practice guide to spreadsheet modelling.
This workshop relates to the KSF dimension G4: Financial Management.

Evaluations

Comments on the evaluation forms included (with kind written permission received from each person):

“Excellent, especially the end bit. Good material.” – Angel Herrera Hernandez, Senior Management Accountant, NHS Peterborough
“Really excellent course. Would like 2 days.” – Peter Bebbington, Peterborough Community Services
“Really good day. Well delivered as usual.” – Andy Jackson, Management Accountant, Peterborough Community Services

Resources

Here are the resources from the day – please use the Username and Password given to you to access them – thank you!

A copy of the authorised version of the Best Practice Spreadsheet Modelling Standards. The Spreadsheet Standards Review Board is the body that develops and maintains the Best Practice Spreadsheet Modelling Standards. The SSRB was established by BPM Analytical Empowerment Pty Ltd to bring together the best spreadsheet modelling skills from around the world in order to develop and gain general acceptance for comprehensive and universally applicable Best Practice Spreadsheet Modelling Standards:

BPSM Best Practice Spreadsheet Modelling Standards

A simple Visual Basic Excel macro which will colour-code cells to highlight the contents of each cell with different formats:

Colour Coding Excel Macro

An Excel workbook containing some simple suggestions for spreadsheet design:

Spreadsheet Tips

Principles, Techniques and Practice of Spreadsheet Style by Philip L. Bewig — July 28, 2005:

How do you know your spreadsheet is right?

Spreadsheet Modelling Best Practice by Nick Read and Jonathan Batson – April 1999:

IBM Spreadsheet Modelling Best Practice

CIMA’s review of In-year Financial Forecasting in the NHS from 2007:

In-year Financial Forecasting in the NHS – CIMA

The Forecasting Principles web site:

Forecasting Principles

Please get in touch if you would like any further resources or information.

Get the skills to forecast confidently and improve financial control through financial modelling.
This one day interactive workshop is the essential practical introduction to the skills and knowledge needed by finance staff to be able to forecast successfully and to create robust and reliable financial models. It covers alternative methods of forecasting in the NHS and best practice in developing financial models.
The workshop is designed for finance staff with responsibility for forecasting and financial modelling. Engaging practical exercises are backed-up by simple theory to ensure comprehensive coverage of the topics. This workshop covers all the forecasting methods available to accountants, the reasons for poor forecasts and how to avoid them and a best practice guide to spreadsheet modelling.
This workshop relates to the KSF dimension G4: Financial Management.

Evaluations

Comments on the evaluation forms included (with kind written permission received from each person):

“Very interesting and gained good knowledge of both topics.” – Jalpy Shah, Senior Assistant Finance Manager, NHS Hertfordshire

“Time to do this is difficult to find, but time well spent. It’s good to have a practitioner as a trainer.” – Philip O’Meara, Finance Team Leader, NHS Hertfordshire

Resources

Here are the resources from the day – please use the Username and Password given to you to access them – thank you!

A copy of the authorised version of the Best Practice Spreadsheet Modelling Standards. The Spreadsheet Standards Review Board is the body that develops and maintains the Best Practice Spreadsheet Modelling Standards. The SSRB was established by BPM Analytical Empowerment Pty Ltd to bring together the best spreadsheet modelling skills from around the world in order to develop and gain general acceptance for comprehensive and universally applicable Best Practice Spreadsheet Modelling Standards:

BPSM Best Practice Spreadsheet Modelling Standards

A simple Visual Basic Excel macro which will colour-code cells to highlight the contents of each cell with different formats:

Colour Coding Excel Macro

An Excel workbook containing some simple suggestions for spreadsheet design:

Spreadsheet Tips

Principles, Techniques and Practice of Spreadsheet Style by Philip L. Bewig — July 28, 2005:

How do you know your spreadsheet is right?

Spreadsheet Modelling Best Practice by Nick Read and Jonathan Batson – April 1999:

IBM Spreadsheet Modelling Best Practice

CIMA’s review of In-year Financial Forecasting in the NHS from 2007:

In-year Financial Forecasting in the NHS – CIMA

Please get in touch if you would like any further resources or information.

Another great day at 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Foundation Trust running The NHS Budget Holder’s Survival Guide. To make NHS organisations financially stable there has to be a fundamental shift in the culture of financial responsibility within the NHS. To achieve this cultural change budget holders need to take responsibility for the financial position of their part of the organisation, but in order to have responsibilities they need to have some rights too. In The NHS Budget Holder’s Survival Guide training day I take budget holders through all the rights and responsibilities and skills and knowledge to improve services to patients, clients and service users.

Comments from today’s event include (with written permission received from each):

“I found today very interesting and relevant – have learnt a lot as I have not previously had any finance training.” – Karen Murch, Family Nurse Supervisor
“Very informative in a relaxed style which removed the fear / concerns about the topic.” – Lesley Berry, Acting Team Manager
“I feel a lot more confident.” – Joanna Donnellen, Ward Manager
“Excellent course, delivered in an exciting way and dry wit. I found it very interactive and practical. I will certainly be putting into practice my new knowledge.” – Hazel Hendriksen, Business Manager
“Enjoyed the day.” – Gillian Harthen, Team Manager, Macmillan Service
“The course was excellent and David made the subject interesting and easy to understand, injected with a sense of humour. One of the best courses I have been on.” – Paula McLeman, Programme Manager
“Very enjoyable session, informative but not dry.” – Viki Hunt, Therapy Operational Manager

Many thanks to everyone involved.

Get the skills to forecast confidently and improve financial control through financial modelling.
This one day interactive workshop is the essential practical introduction to the skills and knowledge needed by finance staff to be able to forecast successfully and to create robust and reliable financial models. It covers alternative methods of forecasting in the NHS and best practice in developing financial models.
The workshop is designed for finance staff with responsibility for forecasting and financial modelling. Engaging practical exercises are backed-up by simple theory to ensure comprehensive coverage of the topics. This workshop covers all the forecasting methods available to accountants, the reasons for poor forecasts and how to avoid them and a best practice guide to spreadsheet modelling.
This workshop relates to the KSF dimension G4: Financial Management.

Evaluations

Comments on the evaluation forms included (with kind written permission received from each person):

“Excellent training day. Interesting throughout.” – Samanthi Gibbens, Finance Manager, East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust
“Very relevant content and useful tips and suggestions.” – Julie Martin, Senior Management Accountant, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
“Really enjoyed the course.” – Sandra Edwards, Primary Care Accounts Assistant, NHS Cambridgeshire

Resources

Here are the resources from the day – please use the Username and Password given to you to access them – thank you!

A copy of the authorised version of the Best Practice Spreadsheet Modelling Standards. The Spreadsheet Standards Review Board is the body that develops and maintains the Best Practice Spreadsheet Modelling Standards. The SSRB was established by BPM Analytical Empowerment Pty Ltd to bring together the best spreadsheet modelling skills from around the world in order to develop and gain general acceptance for comprehensive and universally applicable Best Practice Spreadsheet Modelling Standards:

BPSM Best Practice Spreadsheet Modelling Standards

A simple Visual Basic Excel macro which will colour-code cells to highlight the contents of each cell with different formats:

Colour Coding Excel Macro

An Excel workbook containing some simple suggestions for spreadsheet design:

Spreadsheet Tips

Principles, Techniques and Practice of Spreadsheet Style by Philip L. Bewig — July 28, 2005:

How do you know your spreadsheet is right?

Spreadsheet Modelling Best Practice by Nick Read and Jonathan Batson – April 1999:

IBM Spreadsheet Modelling Best Practice

CIMA’s review of In-year Financial Forecasting in the NHS from 2007:

In-year Financial Forecasting in the NHS – CIMA

Please get in touch if you would like any further resources or information.