Accounts Team of the Year

Endorsed and sponsored by KPMG

This award aims to recognise the most effective, innovative and efficient accounts team looking both at the processes carried out throughout the year and those undertaken at year-end.

Shortlisted entrants may be asked to attend a judging panel to help judges understand more about the entry.

Winner 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Also shortlisted The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, NHS Tees

If at first…
The finance department at 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Foundation Trust will be known for its persistence, as well as the excellence of its annual accounts process. After being shortlisted for last year’s Accounts Team of the Year Award, it came back this year to claim the prize.
This was not merely a resubmission of the earlier entry, however. The finance team continued to develop its processes and was able to overcome a number of challenges, such as gaining foundation status in March 2010 (the 2010/11 accounts were the first full year produced as an FT) and the build-up to the merger with a community services provider in April this year.
Accounts were closed sooner and there
were greater demands on the quality of the presentation of the accounts. The team developed close links with the trust’s communications department to ensure the accounts were published quickly and there
was more quality assurance time built in to
the process.
The team managed the production of the accounts as a separate project. It had its own project plan, which included key elements such as the identification of tasks to be completed, the responsible officer for each task and the deadline for completion.
Working papers were produced to a high standard, ensuring the accounts were closed before Monitor’s deadline, with no errors in the unaudited accounts. Practical ideas, such as copying all working papers onto a CD so they were available to the external auditor at the beginning of the audit, also kept the process moving smoothly.
The judges said it was very difficult to choose between the shortlisted organisations. The overall standard of entries was high and the shortlist represented the ‘best of the best’.
‘Each organisation had faced challenging circumstances and responded in a thorough and professional way,’ they said. ‘We chose
5 Boroughs because of the continued drive to improve the quality of the work of the finance team and its engagement with the wider stakeholders.
‘Having been shortlisted for this award in 2010, the trust continued to develop processes, teamwork, innovation and engagement.’
This included maximising the amount of annual accounts work that could be done before the year end, agreeing the structure of working papers with auditors, successfully managing the transition of PCT provider services into the trust and engaging service users and trust members to be members of the annual report editorial board.
Directorate accountant Natasha Lee  (above left, main picture) said winning the award meant a lot to the team after the disappointment of last year. ‘We continued to do good work and produced a good set of accounts. Teamwork is really important to us,’ she said.
‘Our accounting people are officially the best in the healthcare industry right now; it doesn’t get much better than that,’ said
Dean Marsh, the trust’s director of finance and informatics. 


‘High-quality preparation, production and presentation – what I call the three Ps of accounting – have been the cornerstones of
the approach,’ he continued, ‘resulting in a quality of service that this trust can feel hugely proud of.
‘This national recognition is very welcome and a great reflection of the hard work and commitment I see from my team day in, day out at this trust.’

The Judges

Janet Perry, NHS Financial Controller / Deputy Director of Finance, Department of Health

Suzanne Tracey, Director of Finance & Business Development, Royal Devon & Exeter NHS FT and President, HFMA

Emma Knowles, Head of Financial Management, Audit Commission

David Bacon, Chair, HFMA Accounting & Standards Committee

Neil Thomas, Partner, KPMG