Unit 14 Managing Financial Resources in HSC

Introduction

Aim

The aim of the unit is to enable the health and social care manager to develop understanding of how to control their expenditure against fixed budgets.

Unit abstract

This unit will equip the health and social care manager with the knowledge and understanding needed to monitor costs, make predictions, evaluate the process of effective control of resource allocation, including shortfalls, and make recommendations for expenditure. Most importantly, it will emphasise the key factors of both efficiency and effectiveness. Health and social care managers need to understand the role of planning in the management of financial budgets and the importance of monitoring and managing expenditure. This unit is most appropriate for those who hold responsibilities for managing budgets in a health or social care workplace or who have access to financial information and processes within an organisation. The unit is designed to develop knowledge, skills and understanding in the key areas and covers how systems and processes for managing financial resources influence a specific service for individuals.

Learning outcomes

1 Understand how systems are used to manage financial resources in health and social care

• Costing and business control systems: costs, income, cost-benefit analysis, expenditure,budget, capital, cost control, cost centre; outsourcing, competitive tendering, forecasting, profit, break even; basic software for monitoring financial information within an organisation.
• Information: business costs eg people, equipment, finance, buildings, consumable items, administration; income streams; trends and external influences eg changes in policy, competitive factors, legal requirements
• Regulatory requirements: legislation and codes of practice, audit, accountability, policies
• Systems:sources of income, how budgets are set, administration of budgets, cost centres, accountabilities, audit requirements.

2 Understand the role of planning in the management of health and social care budgets

• Diverse sources of income: public, private, voluntary; local, national
• Influences on resource availability: funding priorities, agency objectives and policies, private finance, outsourcing, inter-agency partnerships, government policies, geography, type of service
• Types of budget: cost centre, project management, outsourcing contract
• Decisions about expenditure:environmental analysis, accountabilities, priorities, short-medium- and long-term planning; cost-benefit analysis; financial risk, project management.

3 Understand the importance of monitoring budget expenditure in health and social care organisations

• Information for monitoring expenditure: cash flow, controlling costs, spreadsheet data, training needs
• Financial shortfalls: priorities, virement, reserve funds, alternative external income sources;implications for individuals within the service
• Suspected fraud: analysing financial information for reliability, validity and sufficiency;
• reporting, evidence of fraud.

4 Understand how systems and processes for managing financial resources influence health and social care services

• Financial decisions: responsibility for decision making, information available, sources of income, priorities etc
• Relationship between service delivery, costs and expenditure:cost-benefit, pricing policies, purchasing arrangements
• Impact on individuals: quality of service, access to service
• Recommendations: options available, supporting evidence, information to be presented fordiscussion by financial decision makers.

Resources

• Kim, K.H. & Lee, M. 2014, "Autophagy--a key player in cellular and body metabolism", Nature reviews. Endocrinology, vol. 10, no. 6, pp. 322-337.
• Knowles, C.H., Veress, B., Kapur, R.P., Wedel, T., Farrugia, G., Vanderwinden, J.?., Geboes, K., Smith, V.V., Martin, J.E., Lindberg, G., Milla, P.J. & De Giorgio, R. 2011, "Quantitation of cellular components of the enteric nervous system in the normal human gastrointestinal tract – report on behalf of the Gastro 2009 International Working Group",Neurogastroenterology & Motility, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 115-124.