Creative Support is an established not for profit social care provider with nearly 30 years’ experience of supporting vulnerable adults nationally. We work in 65 local authorities supporting over 6,000 service users and employ 5,000 staff. Our Head Office is based in Stockport town centre and we have 19 Head Office departments. There is a key focus on promoting excellent customer care and a personalised approach to our service users who we welcome to volunteer and get involved in the organisation as a whole. Creative Support is also a registered social landlord with over 1,000 tenants. We have a proactive and flexible approach and we respond to local and national needs for social housing as well as the social care services for vulnerable adults.
The Internal Audit team is responsible for the auditing of our services for finance policy compliance, business efficiency and to provide good practice in dealing with Client finances and offer policy guidance.
The team also leads on policy and practice review for Client finances, and the improvement of systems related to safeguarding service user finances, and the security of cash held at services. This includes, but is not limited to, completing proactive financial audits, offering guidance to staff, Client Finance Training, and conducting investigations into specific financial incidents or financial concerns raised. The team based at Head office work closely with the Quality team and other head office depts. The team also currently uses remote auditing to support the auditing of financial records and investigations of low severity remotely, thereby using resources more effectively.
The Role:
To work within the Internal Audit team with our programme of preventative audits and reactive investigations.
Key areas of responsibility will include:
- Visiting services nationally to audit and review local finance systems. Your focus will be to check that all money held by the service is managed and accounted for securely and accurately and in line with agency procedures. You will compile your findings into a written report and follow up the completion of actions through an action plan. You will identify areas for improvement specifically in terms of risk management and will contribute towards the development and implementation of new systems to address any gaps identified.
- Carry out remote e-audits where appropriate and follow up on action plans.
- To attend internal meetings to represent the department.
- To deliver skills based training and share tools and materials around prevention of financial abuse and operating high quality systems for good financial recording within the services across Creative Support.
- Oversee case reviews should a finance related incident occur.
- Support the healthy functioning of business systems within Head office departments ensuring efficient use of company resources.
- To visit services across England on a regular basis to conduct a financial audits on site with remote follow ups. To provide a report of the audit in a timely manner and put an action plan in place if required.
- To ensure that the finances at services are managed in line with Creative Support procedures: that money and valuables are kept securely in the safe (within the insurance limit), income security is adhered to and that daily checks are conducted and recorded.
- To undertake remote finance audits according to the schedule of work agreed and as appropriate.
- To assist the quality team when required with general checks whilst you may be on site carrying out a finance audit or investigation.
- To work with services to audit business compliance functions such as triangulation or invoicing returns, rota management and commissioned hours.