Shahid Ahmed

Employer: Bolton PCT
Qualifications: BSc finance and accounting, University of Salford; CIPFA trainee

9.00 am

I arrive in the office and, armed with a cup of coffee, I plough through my e-mails. I review anything outstanding and plan my day as far as possible. I’m working on practice-based commissioning (PBC) at my trust and I am in the middle of the month-end reporting process. I make sure the senior accountant has approved the month-end position so I can work on the executive summaries to be sent out with the statements.

10.00 am

I start working on the executive summaries for the 57 GP practices in the area. This can get quite tedious but analysing problem areas in terms of expenditure and activity is key to helping GPs manage their budgets.

12.30 pm

I have a quick meeting with my training manager to review my progress and make sure I am on target to meet my competences. After lunch, I spend about 20 minutes assessing progress and updating my log, which is handy when completing a placement review sheet.

2.00 pm

I review the agenda for a PBC workgroup meeting later in the afternoon and look at the minutes from previous meetings to make sure I’ve completed any actions and prepared any updates for issues pending. Then I carry on with executive summaries until the meeting. The director of finance chairs the meeting, with finance staff and a representative from the commissioning department. It’s a forum where we review the monthly figures and resolve any issues.

4.00 pm

I have a short meeting with a budget holder. We meet every month to review performance and discuss future developments that might have a financial impact. Contact with service users helps us to make sure that what we provide is useful. Afterwards, I complete the executive summaries and collate the statements before posting them. I head home at 5.30 pm.