Finance Services

I joined Hampshire County Council in December 2005 as a Finance Assistant supporting Recreation Services. Having graduated from university with a degree in Economics I was keen to pursue a career in finance and was attracted to this role as there was the opportunity to take on a finance qualification and I believed that working in a large organisation would offer good prospects for career progression. The good transport links and the close proximity of the train station to the office made Winchester a good place to work.

I started studying for the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) qualification soon after joining the finance team which enabled me to progress within the team I was in. Being supported by my manager through opportunities to undertake work to expand my experience also helped me to gain promotion into a different team. The skills and knowledge I gained placed me in a strong position to be able to further develop and in 2011 I was supported to study for the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy qualification (CIPFA) which included paid time off to attend college and reimbursement of costs such as course fees.

In my current role I manage two teams with differing remits – one is responsible for the coordination of the Hampshire County Council budget monitoring process and budget preparation cycle by which departmental budgets are formulated and approved. The other team is responsible for administering and providing first level support for the finance system used by our external partner Oxfordshire County Council which involves being the first point of contact for questions.

Advice to someone looking to work in finance

The finance team work in a changing and demanding environment but this brings the opportunity to be able to contribute to improving services both within the finance team but also the services we support.

You need to have strong numeracy and analytical skills, alongside good communication skills as we often need to deal with a range of people that have differing levels of financial understanding.

In my previous career I had worked closely with Hampshire County Council staff and had been impressed with their attitude and the way they worked. Therefore when the opportunity arose I successfully applied for a post working at the Council knowing that I was interested in a career in finance.

I started my career with Hampshire County Council in May 2013 in the Shared Service Centre. After a year in post I was then promoted to a role in the finance team.

I have received a lot of support from my team and my managers who have always encouraged my development. I initially paid for myself to complete the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) exams but have received funding to complete the final level of the qualification.

I am very grateful for the opportunities and help that I have received and am happy that my initial impression of Hampshire County Council proved to be right. Through the support and skills I have developed I have been successful in gaining promotion twice within the finance team to my current role. My main responsibilities are to support managers with their budget monitoring – ensuring they are completing the tasks they are responsible for and monitoring some of the joint funding areas to ensure the partner charges are correct.

Advice to someone looking to work in finance

If you are interested in finance and are looking to work within friendly environment that is full of career opportunities (if you are looking for them), then this is a place for you.

I started working for Hampshire County Council in October 2005. I had recently completed my BTEC and was keen study further and wanted to work somewhere where there was the opportunity to develop a career.The job I applied for in the finance team met these criteria as it came with the opportunity to be sponsored to study for the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) and the potential for promotion opportunities in the future.

Following the completion of AAT I held a range of different roles with in the finance team which have given me the wide ranging skills and knowledge I've needed to progress to my current role. I have received support from my colleagues and managers which has helped my development.

The opportunities I have been given enabled me to successfully apply to be sponsored to undertake the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy qualification (CIPFA). Being supported through work meant that I was given paid time off to attend college and my costs (eg membership and course fees) were funded. I was also supported by my managers to allow my workload to be adjusted to reflect the time I was out of the office studying.

Advice to someone looking to work in finance

To work in the finance team you should be highly motivated and keen to learn, have good numerical and analytical skills.

I started working for Hampshire County Council in May 2009. One of the main reasons for wanting to work for Hampshire County Council was the great opportunities and benefits offered compared with the private sector e.g. the pension and the career progression opportunities. Given the size of the finance team I knew it could offer a variety of roles. For example, financial support to the Adult services department differs significantly from the support to the Culture, Communities and Business Services department. This made employment by Hampshire County Council very appealing to me as I knew I could have variety in my career while working for the same employer.

The experience I gained in the preparation of year end accounts, budget monitoring and the process by which the Council’s annual budgets are set in my first role enabled me to secure a promotion in 2011. I held this post for three years and developed my knowledge and experience of public sector accounting which gave me the skills needed to be promoted to my current job.

My main responsibilities are to effectively monitor budgets offering support and guidance to service managers, input to the preparation of the accounts for the year end process, and prepare budgets for the following financial year. In addition to this I manage two members of staff.

I have worked with a number of very knowledgeable professionals in my career at Hampshire County Council, all of whom have been very forthcoming with offering support and helping my development which has been crucial in my career progression. As a result last year I was successful in gaining support to study for the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy qualification (CIPFA) which includes paid time off to attend college and my costs, such as course fees, being funded.

Advice to someone looking to work in finance

As the Council continues to transform to meet reductions in funding I would advise someone looking to work in the finance department to embrace change with a positive attitude, be adaptable and forward thinking.

I started at Hampshire County Council in a temporary role in 2007 and enjoyed the environment and what I was doing so much that I secured a permanent position after six months. My main responsibilities related to transactional finance processes such as raising purchase orders for IT equipment, paying invoices and managing a petty cash account. This job gave me a great insight and made me want to pursue a career in finance.

I was supported to complete the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) qualification which included paid time off and funding. With the additional knowledge I gained from AAT and experience on the job I was able to gain promotion to a role in which I contributed to periodic budget monitoring meetings with budget managers, preparing finance reports and presenting the data to aid understanding.

After two years in this role I was successful in gaining further promotion. I have been given the opportunity to work with a couple of teams covering very different service areas. These wide ranging roles have helped me further develop and with support from my managers I have been able to improve my knowledge of the IT systems that are used as well as my understanding of public sector finances.

I find local government finance a rewarding environment to work in both from the work I undertake and the people I have contact with.

Advice to someone looking to work in finance

It helps to have a good understanding of basic accounting skills with good attention to detail, good communication and numeric skills. Working for local government is very rewarding as you are contributing towards ensuring good service to the public. It is great to have experienced and contributed to Hampshire County Council's success and I would recommend working for Hampshire County Council to anyone.