News / Census sheds new light on finance function

Just over 16,000 finance staff work in the English NHS, according to a new finance function census by the HFMA.

The census, undertaken in partnership with NHS Finance Skills Development (FSD) as part of the HFMA’s world class finance programme, provides the first breakdown of the finance function by agenda for change (AFC) band.

Just over 9,000 of the 16,263 staff in post (headcount) work in the acute sector (NHS trusts and foundation trusts), nearly a further 2,000 in mental health bodies, and 4,250 in PCTs.

Just under 6,000 staff work in foundation trusts compared with almost 5,000 in NHS trusts. Nearly two fifths of finance staff are in bands 1-4 under AFC, just over a quarter are bands 5 and 6, while a third are band 7 and above.

The average number of staff across all types of organisation is 39, although averages range from 24 in SHAs to 56 in acute FTs.

However, this masks a range of sizes among finance departments, influenced by organisational turnover, the extent of in-house services and the provision of significant shared services by some finance departments.

Download HFMA Briefing: NHS finance function in profile