Census profiles finance function

01 May 2018

Login to access this content

These are some of the conclusions of the latest census and staff attitudes survey. The census is the result of a collaboration between the HFMA, NHS Future-Focused Finance and NHS Skills Development Network, while the latter is carried out in parallel by the HFMA.qualifications.by.band lscape

The census and survey reflect the position in the NHS in England in summer 2017 and have been published together in a briefing now available from the HFMA website.

While 45% of finance staff hold a CCAB or equivalent qualification (32%) or are studying for one (13%), a further 12% hold or are studying for the AAT qualification.

The survey found that more than a third of senior finance staff (Agenda for Change band 8d and above) worked additional hours, though this was lower than in 2015. In some cases the additional hours were reported to be 20 hours a week.

Most staff (80%) felt valued by their line manager, with 40% valued by clinicians. However, only 7% felt valued by the public and 10% by politicians.

There was a small increase in the number of female finance directors (28% of all posts compared with 26% in 2015), but this remains disproportionately low compared with the proportion of women who work in NHS finance. Women account for 61% of finance staff, outnumbering men at every Agenda for Change grade up to and including 8b. From 8c the position is reversed.

Facing increasing pressure to deliver control totals, support the emerging models of care and find efficiency savings, there has been a small increase in overall headcount compared with the last census in 2015. There were 16,443 finance staff, an increase of 232 (just under 1.5%) compared with 2015.

In providers, there were an additional 364 staff in acute trusts, but a fall of 100 in community trusts and 136 in mental health units. And while clinical commissioning group staff increased by 13%, commissioning support units saw their overall headcount fall by 24%. Specialist commissioning finance staff fell by 37%. Even so, the average CCG finance team is just nine staff, up one since 2015. However, in summer 2017 there were two fewer CCGs and a number of CCGs that shared chief finance officers and finance teams.

Emma Knowles, HFMA head of policy and research, said: ‘At the overall level, the figures show only a small increase in numbers from 2015. But the demands on finance staff have increased significantly in the last two years – and continue to increase.

‘Roughly the same number of finance staff are overseeing a bigger budget and are supporting the achievement of major efficiency demands to meet challenging control totals.’

See Distinguishing features (Healthcare Finance, May 2018)

The NHS finance function in 2017: England (briefing)