Future Focused Finance

Future Focused FinancePhil Lewis

Ah! The Future

Jet-packs; hover boards; moon bases; flights to Mars; fridges that order refills every time you run out of something and all sorts of hi-tech goodies. But, as Meat Loaf put it, the future just aint what it used to be.

That future is for dreamers, who usually dont do anything to make it happen, but just sit back and wait for someone else to deliver their dreams. One thing I know about the future, its where Im going to live the rest of my life so I want to make the most of it.

That future is for dreamers, who usually dont do anything to make it happen, but just sit back and wait for someone else to deliver their dreams. One thing I know about the future, its where Im going to live the rest of my life so I want to make the most of it.

Its all too easy to think that all the new gadgets and gizmos are the answer to all our problems, we have a habit of blaming our accounting system for our problems, its not fast enough, it doesnt give us the reports we want.

That future is for dreamers, who usually dont do anything to make it happen, but just sit back and wait for someone else to deliver their dreams. One thing I know about the future, its where Im going to live the rest of my life so I want to make the most of it.

Its all too easy to think that all the new gadgets and gizmos are the answer to all our problems, we have a habit of blaming our accounting system for our problems, its not fast enough, it doesnt give us the reports we want.

Anybody remember when getting a trial balance out of the accounting system meant feeding in a fresh box of tractor-fold paper in the evening, and, if the paper didnt jam, youd have an empty box and a printed trial balance in the morning? So maybe our technologys not so bad after all. Securing excellence is about getting what we want out of what weve got.

If weve got the right equipment, whats wrong?Well the computer companies used to mention the hardware, the software and the wetware the users of their systems. Whilst its difficult not to mention expensive - to influence the hardware and software, we have a great deal of influence over the wetware. To be fair, the NHS invests a lot in training and developing its finance staff, encouraging them to get relevant formal qualifications; and NHS staff have an excellent pass record. Thats not to say theres not scope for improvement. My area for concern would be around the non-finance staff that make use of the system. The requisitioners and budget holders.

Theres no doubt that the NHS has excellent clinicians who know the business of healthcare, but there seems to be an ingrained attitude of lets get the work done, and well worry about the accounting afterwards. There also seems to be a widely-held perception that finance staff will put obstacles in the way. This leads to expenditure that is not properly authorised and the finance team having to post correction journals; it may also contravene competition law.

Theres no doubt that the NHS has excellent clinicians who know the business of healthcare, but there seems to be an ingrained attitude of lets get the work done, and well worry about the accounting afterwards. There also seems to be a widely-held perception that finance staff will put obstacles in the way. This leads to expenditure that is not properly authorised and the finance team having to post correction journals; it may also contravene competition law.Further, there seems to be an aversion to all things finance and even a tendency to produce internal reports rather than asking finance to provide the appropriate figures. These internal reports may or may not tie back to the ledger.

What can we do about it?We can send them all on finance coursesNo, no no!Not a good idea, if theyd wanted a career in finance they probably wouldnt be doing what theyre doing now.

The alternatives?Talk to the budget holders, explain their responsibilities.

The alternatives?Talk to the budget holders, explain their responsibilities.Coaching for requisitioners, ask them whats causing them difficulties and talk them through it.

The alternatives?Talk to the budget holders, explain their responsibilities.Coaching for requisitioners, ask them whats causing them difficulties and talk them through it.Repeat as necessary! Dont stop just as youre getting to know them!

The alternatives?Talk to the budget holders, explain their responsibilities.Coaching for requisitioners, ask them whats causing them difficulties and talk them through it.Repeat as necessary! Dont stop just as youre getting to know them!Include a finance representative when setting up a project team to deliver objectives. Someone to confirm that the figures used are correct and stack up. Who knows, with the correct information they might come to a decision sooner and be able to fulfil their potential by concentrating on their own areas of expertise!

This is easy!

So why havent we done this before?

The PastThe past has been all about the past, how did we perform last week, last month, last year? Weve asked someone to carry out a service, what do we need to do now to get them paid? Ive got an invoice, how do I raise an order to get it paid

The FutureIn future we need to educate people to build up an understanding among finance stakeholders so instead of reacting to events, they include finance milestones in their planning process. When a service requirement is identified, the first step is to follow the procurement process. Do we need to go to tender? If so then this will extend the lead-in time for the new service by several weeks. Is the supplier on the system? Again, if theyre not, then the purchase order process will be extended.

This is the sort of advice that finance staff can provide, if theyre asked! But they havent got the time I hear you say. On the other hand, if they werent spending so much time correcting mistakes, then just maybe

and who knows, if finance staff feel more included in the general running scheme of things, then they might finally realise that the NHS is a great place to work!