Placement detail
Children & Lifelong Learning Joint Finance Unit
The trainee placement within the Children and Lifelong Learning directorate is based within the Vulnerable Children's team. The placement is well established and the trainee is very much a core member of the team.
Tasks are wide ranging but include:
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Budget monitoring and spending forecasts
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Meeting with service budget holders to discuss quarterly budget monitoring
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Completion of virements and accounting journals
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The provision of Financial I.T. system training.
Internal Audit's role is comprehensive, with fields such as computer audit, systems development and contracts. Of course, audit is still involved in the traditional probity reviews aimed at the prevention of fraud and misappropriation. However, the real emphasis is on efficient use and application of the Council's precious resources.
A trainee's role will include:
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Working as a team to complete the Annual Audit Plan for the County Council and other outside organisations, for example Staffordshire Fire & Rescue and Staffordshire Police
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You will have your own Audit job list containing jobs of varying nature, time spans and detail levels
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Responsibility from an early stage to manage your own work load and prioritise your time
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The placement is very interesting and is based within a demanding work area.
The trainee’s placement in the Social Care and Health Joint Unit is both extremely challenging and enjoyable. This is because currently Social Care and Health is going through a huge period of change, which also means the trainee’s role in this Joint Finance Unit is demanding and varied, undertaking tasks and jobs different to other placements, making this placement exciting and ultimately providing beneficial experience to any trainee’s development.
Some of the tasks the trainee can expect to be experience include:
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Budget monitoring; meeting with and providing regular financial advice and assistance to budget holders across the Social Care and Health Directorate.
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Year End Transactions (YETS) and the close down of accounts procedure at the end of the financial year.
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Registrars. The trainee’s role includes monitoring all of the registrars’ electronic cashbooks across Staffordshire, providing any advice and assistance required, helping to closedown the cashbooks at year end and setting up new cashbooks for the next financial year, all with the aim of reconciling the cashbooks to what is recorded on SAP.
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Various other challenging and interesting tasks that occur throughout year, sometimes unexpectedly!
This team analyses and interprets changes to the local government finance system. It also advises the County Council on the impact of the annual Local Government Finance Settlement and Council Tax setting. Support is also provided to the Director of Finance in his national roles. The section carries out ad hoc special finance projects, supports the Division's business planning and undertakes performance management processes.
The main tasks of a trainee are summarised below:
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Analyse the provisional and final local government finance settlements by carrying out analysis as requested by the Principal Accountant
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Provide support to the process of setting the Council's precept and Council Tax. Tasks include, setting precept dates, gathering taxbase and collection fund information, preparing official precept demand notices, preparing payment schedules
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Support the production of the new Council Tax booklet produced in partnership with Staffordshire District Councils and the Police and Fire authorities. Tasks include project managing the project, gathering financial information for inclusion, dealing with printers, attending project team meetings and dealing with the accounting arrangements
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Producing quarterly performance reports for consideration by the Finance Management Team.
The Development Services Directorate maintains the highways, bridges and lighting network. It also is resposible for the building of new roads and bridges as well as driving economic development, regeneration and new jobs within the county. This placement's role is primarily to assist a senior accountant. The focus is on the capital side (i.e. the building rather than maintaining) of new roads and infrastructure within the county.
Tasks include:
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Liaising with and processing payments to contractors along with sundry debtor invoices
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Maintaining and monitoring budgets for several budget holders
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Assisting in the management of the Enterprise centres budgets, taking the minutes in the monthly meetings with the centre managers and producing and updating their income/expenditure budgets.
The team is responsible for co-ordinating the preparation of the Medium Term Financial Strategy and producing the Council's statement of accounts. The team works closely with the Joint Finance Units in each directorate to monitor the Council's overall revenue budget and also with Property Services to monitor the Capital Programme. Support is also provided to the Deputy Corporate Director (Finance) to make sure that the Council's accounting policies and practices reflect best practice and comply with statutory requirements and professional standards.
A trainee's main tasks include:
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Collation of quarterly budget monitoring, and provision of a summary quarter outturn report to Cabinet
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Undertake budget setting, as part of the Medium Term Financial Strategy
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Review and completion of External Claims forms
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Various corporate projects, as and when they occur.
The Joint Finance Unit is responsible for ensuring the financial well being of the Resources Directorate and Chief Executive's Office. The Unit also plays a key role in assisting both departments to achieve their corporate objectives.
Trainees undertaking this placement will perform a wide range of tasks including:
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Quarterly budget monitoring for corporate business units
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Budget setting for the subsequent year
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Accounting journals and year end accruals
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Processing of internal recharges.
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