Finance Division Year Book 2015 - University of … Division Year Book 2015 1 | P a g e Contents Introduction from Giles ..... 2 Welcome to the Finance Charity..... 4 ...

Finance Division

Year Book

2015

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Contents

Introduction from Giles ...................................................................................................................... 2

Welcome to the Finance Division! ...................................................................................................... 3

Charity ................................................................................................................................................. 4

Sport ................................................................................................................................................... 6

Photography Competition .................................................................................................................. 9

Book Club ............................................................................................................................................ 9

Reward Scheme ................................................................................................................................ 10

Staff Engagement ............................................................................................................................. 13

Team Profiles .................................................................................................................................... 14

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Introduction from Giles

Welcome everyone to the first ever Finance Division Year Book! This is our chance to look back at 2015 and share our successes. It’s also a chance for me to thank you all for the work that you do, every day, to keep the Division running so successfully. Thank you for your time, your energy and enthusiasm, and your professionalism in 2015, and I look forward to working with you again in 2016.

2015 was a busy year in the Finance Division. On top of our day to day work, we’ve seen changes in team structures, and a large group of new starters. We pride ourselves in selecting not just the strongest candidates, but those individuals who will work best in the unique environment of the

collegiate University. I’m also very proud of the leavers who moved on from the Division to other jobs around the University or outside: it’s great to be a part of someone’s career path like that. Welcome to all our new starters and a fond farewell to our leavers this year – keep in touch!

2015 saw some changes at the University as well. Our long standing Vice Chancellor, Andrew Hamilton, is heading to New York University to take up the role of President. The achievements of his period in office have been significant. Taking up office with the UK economy in deep recession, Professor Hamilton focused the collegiate University on a united response to the inevitable government funding cuts. Even when the global economy was faltering, the University achieved annual income growth of 6-7%. We’ve heard a lot about the new Blavatnik building on Walton Street, but there’s more to Oxford’s evolution to a 21st Century city than that. We’ve seen new buildings spring up across the city in the six and a half years he’s been in office: new buildings for Mathematics and Earth Sciences; the transformation of the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, and new centres for the study of China and of the Middle East. Professor Hamilton can also be credited with successfully leading the Oxford Thinking campaign to achieve many new landmark donations, including the very important Moritz-Heyman gift of a £75m scholarship fund to support students from the lowest income families in the UK. We’re looking forward to the changes that our new Vice Chancellor, Louise Richardson, will bring.

2016 will see further changes. We have a big office move coming up at the beginning of the year which, as I write, we just beginning to plan. We know that we need to vacate the first floor of HBS by June and we are now beginning to consider how to re-organise teams to fit the new space. Thank you everyone for your patience, and rest assured that we’ll keep you informed of progress.

All the very best for 2016

Giles

PS this Year Book is still a work in progress – if you think someone or something has been missed out, please let Isabelle Pitt, our Communications Officer, know and she’ll update it.

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Welcome to the Finance Division! In 2015 we welcomed these staff on fixed term or permanent contracts:

Christine Aherne Shahina Begum Charles Spencer-Jones Emma-Jayne Corkish Helen Parker Charlotte Speakes Philip Hayes George Sardar Karolina Gatkiewicz Harry Myring Sue Barkley Rob Doran Laura Hill Michael Frankl Lydia Manfo-Obeng Rima Begum Sara Goad Diane Brooks Rizwan Shahzad Jamie Sutton Ilana Sterrie Christy McNish Sarah Gibbard Francesca Dean Peter Sheppard Gemma Hester Evaline Zachari Christopher Daniel Sally Vine Linda Naughton Ilan Shaw Adrienne Lingard Brenda Marowa Puneet Vishnu Gill Crofts

Isabelle Pitt Rakiba Rahman

Matthew Fleet* James Sherbourne**

In 2015 we’ve welcomed people from the private sector, the public sector, the higher education sector and from other parts of the University. We’re also really pleased that so many new starters came to us originally as temporary staff. Welcome everyone: the Finance Division wouldn’t be the same without you, and we’re happy that you’ve joined our team.

And the wider Finance Division family has also grown last year. Jo Strutt’s, Natalie Stamp’s, Harry Myring’s, Stephen Barker’s and Marius Apertrei’s families have all grown by one little person in 2015: congratulations to you all.

Well done everyone who’s secured promotions throughout the year, or has successfully gained

professional qualifications. Linda Howse passed her Retirement Provision Certificate, and Lesley

Hambelton passed her PRINCE2 practitioner exam. Congratulations to Jo Pready, Chris Bellinger,

Stephen Lakelin and Helen Cardis, who all passed the accredited exam and gained their certificates

for BSC Business Analysis Practice. Rizwan Shahzad, Hamza Azam, Rosanah Holmes, Rima Begum,

Elisha Ward and Tim Birch also passed exams this year. Congratulations to Claudia Valiente, who

recently qualified under AAT, and Gemma Greenaway, who recently passed an ACCA paper. Ilana

Sterrie qualified as an accountant at the end of the year. Phuong Bassett-Jones passed P3 –

Business Analysis in her ACCA studies.

Congratulations!

* returning to the Finance Division

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** returning to the Finance Division after four months away: a new record!

Charity We’re a generous bunch here at the Finance Division. Colleagues have walked, run, swam, got muddy, abseiled, baked, dressed down, ping ponged, abstained from alcohol and cycled for charity last year – but luckily not all at the same time. We’ve raised money for Children in Need, Macmillan Cancer Research, Sobell House Hospice, Breast Cancer Awareness, Cancer Research, the British Heart Foundation, Vasculitis UK, Oxford University Hospitals Trust and Southampton Hospital Charity, the Royal British Legion, the British Heart Foundation and many more. It’s hard to count how much we’ve raised for charity in 2015, but if we only count internal Finance Division efforts (plant sales, cake sales, raffles etc.) we get to a grand total of just over £1000. Well done to everyone, and let’s see if we can beat that next year!

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Team Spirit: abseiling for charity

What a spread! One of many cake sales in 2015

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Sport The two big sporting events of this year were the annual Finance vs IT football match and the Ian Peedle Memorial Cricket Tournament. The Finance Division football team won 6-1 against the IT Services team, with a hat-trick from Harry Myring and other goals from Daniel Weller, Lawrence Medley (guest from Queen Elizabeth House) and David Creasey were the icing on the cake in a fine team performance and Finance’s first victory ever against IT Services.

The Ian Peedle Memorial Cricket Tournament takes place every year in memory of Ian Peedle, a former member of staff at the Finance Division, who lost a long battle against cancer in 2008. All the money raised from the day goes to a relevant charity. In 2015, that charity was Sobell House Hospice. The tournament was a great success. The Kerr Kestrels, Purbrick Pandas and Morgan Meerkats were on top form, and battled it out for dominance. It was the Meerkats who were ultimately triumphant, for the second year in a row. Congratulations to all the players, and in particular to Josh Perrin and Monika Klim, who were awarded prizes for ‘Best Newcomers’.

Thanks to James Boon for scoring, and to Robert Bouse, Geoff Moore, Peter Ransom, Tim Postlethwaite and Andrew Bodkin for umpiring. Congratulations also go to David James and Alison Coldstream who won the Finance Division Pointless quiz, expertly hosted by James Beveridge, with Alan Cunningham as his charming assistant. Congratulations to Helene Sheridan who, despite running the event, also won the Welly Wanging, and to Andrew Bodkin, Kevin Rodd and returnee Elliott Gasper who also received prizes. Many thanks also to James, Alan, Helene, Linda Howse, and our Human Fruit Machine participants. As ever, huge thanks go to Kevin Rodd for organising the cricket and Dee Stepney for organising the activities.

Poetry in motion: Martina wanging a welly

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Inspiration in the form of Best Newcomers, Monika…

… and Josh.

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Supporting from the side-lines, Linda and Dee

“The Field of Dreams”

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Photography Competition Congratulations to Gina Saunders in Gift Registry for her winning entry ‘Open the Door’. Her photo, taken in Oxford’s Natural History Museum, appeared on the front cover of this year’s Budget Book.

The photography competition will run again in the summer of 2016. Meanwhile, the Communications team is always on the lookout for beautiful, high res, images to use in presentations and online. If you’d like your photos to be featured, please send them to [email protected]

Book Club

We have some avid bookworms in the Division! This year the Book Club read, digested and discussed a wide range of books, like Anne Tyler’s A Spool of Blue Thread, the classic from Umberto Eco Foucault’s Pendulum, and the award winning H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald.

Book club meets regularly – if you’re interested in joining, please contact Lou Carson.

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Reward Scheme 2015 also saw the relaunch of our Reward Scheme. This recognises one-off outstanding contributions from staff by awarding a one-off payment of £200 to the nominee.

Anyone in the Finance Division can nominate a colleague, team member or manager, and any member of staff can be nominated by departmental staff too. Since June, colleagues who have gone the extra mile, or shown real commitment to any or all of our four values of respect, integrity, professionalism and excellence, have been awarded £200 in recognition of their work.

Click on people’s names to read more about why they received their reward.

Congratulations to

Elliot Gaspar* Financial Analysis

High-profile budgeting exercise.

Tequila Osborne Research Accounts

Gratitude expressed by an academic.

Charlie Morgan Payroll

Action taken to ensure University staff received pay slips.

Alan Cunningham Pensions

1) Delivery of high profile presentations to senior members of staff at University.

2) Advising and supporting a high level member of UAS at a very sensitive time

Fiona Belardo Cashiers

1) Presentation on customer service delivered at short notice. 2) Organising and delivering high profile online payments seminar

Lily McMullen Purchasing

1) Involvement in the scientific tender exemptions, purchases and catalogues.

2) Commitment shown supporting Said Business School in their ITT and evaluation/selection process.

Marsha Knight* Financial Reporting

Improved quality and accuracy of the investment accounting.

Sam Hannis Research Accounts

Managed the RCUK external audit.

Helen Cardis FSSC

Recognition of the leadership and support given to the team whilst covering a role

Jo Sibbald Purchasing

Improving the University’s Procurement maturity classification from ‘Planned’ to ‘Superior’ resulting in the University of Oxford being ranked number one of the very large Universities.

Sam Raynor Subsidiary Accounts

Exceptionally professional and conscientious approach taken during her part time secondment to Said Business School Finance Team.

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Nathan Clulow Purchasing

Support to Oxford Saïd Business School.

Nicky James Gift Registry

Training a colleague during a time when the Gift Registry was dealing with significant challenges.

Ginny Norman Cheryl Marlow Cashiers Office

Initiative to improve customer service levels and departments understanding of the processes for cash handling.

Laura Hill Research Accounts

Positive start to her role in Research Accounts, with quiet efficiency and great team spirit and professionalism.

Christy McNish Shirley Roberson Nicola James Chris Hayter Gift Registry

Work required following the crash of the Oxford Thinking Campaign website due the volume of hits on the WildCRU Cecil campaign.

Cara Pullen Payments

Extra work taken on during a busy time of year.

Tim Frost Purchasing

Presentation given on behalf to Paediatrics explaining best practice.

Sue Crowder Pensions

Additional work she took on to assist the Pensions department during a prolonged period of staff absence.

Jeanette Roberts Accounts Receivable

Unswaying commitment and enthusiasm when investigating and resolving a number of payment issues.

Isabelle Pitt Communications

Preparing a high profile presentation at short notice on behalf of the Tax team.

Claire Seeley Purchasing

Outstanding contribution to the smooth running of the Corporate section of the University Purchasing Department during a period of high activity and limited resource.

Ailsa Fowler Directorate

Constant support and help she provides other members of her team and the wider Finance Division, and also the dedication she showed in covering the work of one team member during a leave period.

Robert Bouse UAS/ASUC

Coordinating the budgets and forecasting for three units in ASUC, thereby providing excellent customer service.

David Creasy Tax

Preparation and delivering of highly commended Tax training programme.

Geoff Moore Financial Planning

Delivery of customer service to our departments at the close of the October GL period that exceeded all expectations.

Anna Karlinska Laura Hill Stephen Vincent

Excellent team work to provide high levels of customer service, developing efficient working processes, and the delivery of tailored training to a secondee and a new member of staff.

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Christopher Daniels Ricardo Alves Phuong Bassett-Jones Ciaran Starrett Research Accounts James Boon Research Accounts

Initiated and managed the delivery of a key piece of functionality.

Monika Klim Research Accounts

Spent a huge amount of time helping, supporting and advising a department.

Gemma Greenaway Helen Parker Financial Reporting

Rose to the challenge of their first year end process with determination and commitment.

Emma-Jayne Corkish Purchasing

Helped a colleague in need during a medical emergency.

. In 2015, the Payroll team received a team Recognition award for their work running up to the HRIS v20 upgrade in October, when they completed the upgrade preparation ahead of schedule.

*no longer works in the Finance Division

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Staff Engagement

Since 2008, the Finance Division has carried out an annual staff survey which has been important in shaping our strategy. Following the 2015 survey earlier this year, we have completed a review of the last four years. Overall, the staff satisfaction rates remain consistently high and for most topics we have seen an upward trend, but there are also a few key measures where further improvements are required. To this end, and in line with our plans to proceed to the next level of the Investors in People accreditation, we have created an Engagement Programme for the next three years. The aim of this programme is:

To create a workplace in which everyone feels looked after, listened to, where

everyone feels that they have opportunities created by them and for them,

where they feel empowered and they have a voice in the things that matter to

them.

In September 2015 we launched three pilot programmes:

The PDR process: run by Fiona Belardo

Training: run by Klajdia Bullari

Succession planning: run by Kevin Rodd

Thanks to Fiona, Klajdia and Kevin for the huge amount of time and energy they put into the pilots, and to everyone who got in touch with their thoughts, opinions and suggestions. Whist we don’t have any formalised plans at the moment, the timeframe for changes to be rolled out was shared with all staff at the Staff Christmas Briefing, and you can download those slides here. As ever, your feedback is very welcome: just get in touch with any of the pilot leads, or drop the Head of Administration, Laura Cooper, a line. You’ll receive regular updates about the Staff Engagement Programme as we roll out changes.

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Team Profiles

These pages detail the teams across the Finance Division, and share some of their top successes from 2015. If you’re a member of one of these teams and you think there’s something that should be included here, please contact Isabelle Pitt and let her know.

The quotes, in blue, are from the 2015 Customer Survey.

Cashiers

Bridget Midwinter Chief Cashier

Fiona Belardo Deputy Chief Cashier

Linda McCluskey Online Store Manager

Caroline Afford Senior Cashier (BACS payments)

Charmian Maskell Cashier (Barclaycard, Pre-paid cards, BACS payments)

Cheryl Marlow Cashier (Cash and banking, Petty Cash, Advances)

Ginny Norman Cashier (Cash and banking, Petty Cash, Advances)

Caroline Duffy Cashier (Currency cheques, Online Store)

The Cashiers Office is responsible for the receipt, banking and allocation of all University income, whilst ensuring compliance with University Regulations and Policies regarding cash handling and card data security. They sit in the far corner of Hythe Bridge Street, in their own room.

The Cashiers arrange secure cash collections and deliveries. The team also collects direct debits and administers Barclaycards for University departments. The team are the main point of contact for Barclays banking queries, and manage card processing and other payment facilities across the University.

I have always found the Cashiers to be approachable, helpful and responsive. They make an effort to be nice.

The Cashiers Office also administers the Online Store Facility, which provides a convenient way for departments to sell goods and services via the Internet. Many departments and colleges are already successfully running online stores this way.

Their support and expertise is invaluable to us and much appreciated!

This year the Cashiers have focused on departmental visits this year with great success. They’ve proactively developed contacts and relationships across the University, investing time and energy to help people understand their role. The online shop continues to grow.

You can read about Bridget Midwinter’s Insight Session, detailing her experience as a hockey umpire, here.

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Credit Control

Martin Wright Credit Control Manager

Paul Moorhouse Credit Control Deputy Manager Paul is on secondment to the FSSC team until Summer 2016

Jeanette Roberts Credit Controller

Michael Murrell Credit Controller

The Credit Control (AR) team supports University departments with their sales processes. The team are the University’s subject matter experts in debt management and credit control procedures for Order to Cash (O2C) in Oracle Financials. The team works to facilitate a strong bond between departments and their customers, which in turn helps provide positive cash flow for the University.

The Credit Control team are excellent, very professional and always willing to help. They continue to improve systems and processes to make them simpler and more efficient.

They do this by listening, understanding and responding to customers’ needs, both internal and external, quickly and efficiently. The team welcomes departmental feedback to make sure that O2C processes and procedures can be amended to meet changing requirements.

Credit Control have focused their efforts on developing relationships with the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust throughout 2015, to great success, both in terms of reducing the 90+ day debt, but also of improving the reputation of the Credit Control team and the Finance Division as a whole.

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Directorate/Administration/Communications

Giles Kerr Director of Finance Division

Rob Williams Deputy Director of Finance Division

Laura Cooper Head of Administration

Dee Stepney PA to Giles

Ailsa Fowler PA to Rob

Paula Chambers Office Manager

Isabelle Pitt Communications Officer

Sam Wellstood Admin and Web

The directorate is split between Wellington Square (Giles and Dee) and Hythe Bridge Street, but

work closely together. The new Head of Administration, Laura Cooper, started in January 2016,

and will lead a new team of Ailsa, Isabelle, Paula and Sam.

The Finance Communications Officer is responsible for all finance-related communication,

consultation and information at the University. Isabelle produces a monthly Finance Bulletin, keeping

all colleagues working in finance up to date with financial and procedural changes, as well as

advising departmental monthly deadlines. A further publication, also sent on a monthly basis to the

Finance Division, is the Staff News, which details upcoming events and staff announcements. You

can catch up with what’s going on in the Division on our intranet pages. Isabelle is also on hand to

advise colleagues on a range of communication needs.

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Divisional Finance Teams

The Finance Division operates both through its specialist teams in the shared service centre in Hythe Bridge Street and through dedicated Divisional Finance teams based in each Divisional office. The Divisional Finance teams, reporting to Stephen Purbrick, divide their time between providing technical financial support to departments and carrying out the financial policies set by their Divisional boards and the relevant central committees of the University. The teams are: Humanities, Medical Sciences, Maths, Life and Physical Sciences, and UAS/ASUC.

The support received from my Divisional Finance Team is excellent, they are always quick to respond to any queries I may have and when I have informed them if I have come across any errors they have dealt with them promptly and informed me of the outcome.

Excellent - responsive, helpful and knowledgeable and it's a pleasure working with them.

Humanities Divisional Office

Lynn Hutton Divisional Financial Controller

Ellen Higgins Humanities Finance Manager (on secondment to IT Services)

Nicola Roberts Humanities Finance Manager (covering Nicola’s secondment)

Lorraine Rathband Finance Officer

The Humanities Division brings together 13 faculties. The Division offers world-class teaching and research, backed by the superb resources of the University’s libraries and museums, including the famous Bodleian Library and the Ashmolean Museum. Such historic resources are linked to cutting-edge agendas in research and teaching, with an increasing emphasis on interdisciplinary study. Each unit is responsible for running its own finances within the annual budgets agreed by the Divisional Board, and for the preparation of quarterly forecasts and 5 year financial projections. Faculty budgets include the full cost of each unit’s operations. Funding for Humanities comes from a mixture of sources, including UK government funding and student fee income distributed to the Division via the University’s JRAM, research projects funded by Research Councils, ERC or other (frequently charitable) organisations, donations and income from endowments. The Finance Team at the Humanities Division support the Faculties and the Division as a whole. The team works in the Radcliffe Humanities building located on Radcliffe Observatory Quarter on Woodstock Road. Lynn joined the team in November 2009. She previously worked at Buckinghamshire County Council in Adult Social Care collaborating with the NHS. Ellen joined in October 2007 and is currently seconded to IT services. Nicola joined the team to cover for Ellen in May 2015. Both secondments are offering Ellen and Nicola opportunities to learn about a different area of activity and develop new skills. Lorraine works part-time, spending one of her three days at the Ruskin School of Art.

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Medical Sciences Divisional Office

Linda Naughton Divisional Financial Controller (from Dec 2015)

Michael Tolley Divisional Financial Controller (interim)

Samantha Branch Divisional Accountant

Iwona Kedzior Financial Analyst

Gemma Hester Divisional Finance Manager

Edwin Kiarie Accounts Assistant

Christine Lees-Baxter Divisional Accountant

The Medical Sciences Division includes the preclinical departments (Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics; Pathology; and Pharmacology) and all the clinical departments of the Medical School, plus the Departments of Biochemistry and Experimental Psychology. The Division is a major centre for clinical and non-clinical research in the UK, and achieved a top score in all three HEFCE research assessment exercises. The annual grant income from external sources for the Medical Sciences Division is over £120 million. It has over 3,000 staff, 800 graduate students and 900 undergraduates. About 350 NHS Clinicians and GPs contribute to its teaching The Medical Sciences Division is made up of 21 departments. Depending on their size, some of the departments may have their own dedicated finance officer or they may have an Administrator and assistant who are responsible for everything from personnel matters to finance. The Administrator for each department reports to their Head of Department, who is in turn responsible to the Divisional Board. The Medical Sciences Division is based at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Headington, with some departments in and around the Churchill Hospital, also in Headington, and the Medical Sciences Teaching Centre on South Parks Road. The Medical Sciences finance team members work in an open plan office together with other Medical Sciences Divisional Office staff, such as those dealing with student administration and alumni relations. Although based in the Medical Sciences Office, the team is part of the Finance Division.

MPLS Divisional Office

Jeremy Sims Divisional Financial Controller

Emily Ashwell Divisional Accountant

Martha Brundin

Alison Edwards Management Accountant

Kingsley Irwin Project Accountant

The Maths, Physical and Life Sciences (MPLS) Division is one of the four academic divisions in the University of Oxford - with over 6,000 FTE students and research staff. The Division has a turnover £400m 2014/15 (over half of which is external research grant income), and occupy an estate of some 98,000m2. The MPLS Division’s 10 departments and three interdisciplinary units span the full spectrum of the mathematical, computation, physical, engineering and life sciences, and undertake both fundamental research and cutting-edge applied work. Its research addresses major societal and technological challenges. This work is increasingly interdisciplinary in nature, and the Division

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collaborates closely with colleagues in Oxford across the medical sciences, social sciences and humanities. The Research Excellence Framework (REF) assessed the quality and impact of UK higher education institutions’ research in all disciplines in 2014. The mathematical, physical and life sciences at Oxford received the highest overall grade point average (GPA) and the highest GPA for outputs. MPLS received the highest proportion of 4* outputs, and the highest proportion of 4* activity overall compared with other UK Universities. More than 50 per cent of MPLS activity was assessed as world leading. Social Sciences Divisional Office

Harry Myring Divisional Financial Controller

Rakiba Rahman Divisional Financial Manager

Sarah Goad Departmental Finance Manager

Peter Sheppard Departmental Finance Manager

Jonathan Webb Finance Officer

The Social Sciences Division is responsible for providing a broad strategic focus across its constituent disciplines. The division consists of 13 departments such as the Said Business School, with a turnover of about £30m, and three inter-disciplinary cross-divisional units including the innovative James Martin 21st Century School, which focuses its research on 21st Century challenges. The Division has responsibility for over 700 academics, about 2,700 graduate students and 2,000 undergraduates. The division is a world-leading centre for research in the social sciences. In the 2014 REF exercise, nearly half of all social sciences submissions were judged to be world leading, and three departments received the highest national grade point average, and four departments rated the best nationally on the ‘power index’. Work is carried out in both the disciplinary and multi-disciplinary traditions. This research contributes both to the academic study of social science and to current debates on public policy.

UAS/ASUC Divisional Office

Kevin Rodd Divisional Financial Controller

Robert Bouse Divisional Accountant

Ruth Connor Divisional Finance Manager

Beverly Judd Assistant Accountant

Caroline Menlove Assistant Accountant

Pauline Bampton Assistant Accountant

Sue Barkley Assistant Accountant

The ASUC/UAS Divisional Finance team support both “Service” divisions and combined as one team in 2011. The Academic Services and University Collections (ASUC) Division comprises the four University’s museums, Bodleian Libraries and the Botanic Garden. The collections embodied within ASUC departments are an essential part of the University’s wider mission. Other ASUC departments form a resource of national and international importance for

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teaching, research and cultural life as they make a major contribution to the University’s outreach and access missions. University Administration & Services (UAS) covers most of the central functions of the University from IT Services to Development Office to Legal Services to Sports to Finance itself! Most UAS departments, such as Research Services and IT services report directly to the Registrar, the University’s senior administrator. Some departments, such the Planning, Resource and Allocation Section, are part of the Academic Administration Division (AAD), which is one of the largest units within UAS. AAD is headed by the Academic Registrar, Emma Potts, who reports to the Registrar. Other UAS departments not reporting directly to the Registrar include the Finance Division, (Director, Giles Kerr, reports to the Vice-Chancellor) and Development, Alumni Relations and Public Affairs (the Directors of which report to the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Development and External Affairs). Estate Services are also part of UAS. The divisional finance teams support departments in managing their financial performance. This means observing not just actual income and expenditure (I&E) but also what the financial pressures are. A lot of work goes into the quarterly management cycle (budgets, forecasts and reporting), and in order to better understand departments, the team aim to visit all their departments each quarter. The team are also providing a shared financial service across the divisions and currently directly support Alumni, three Museums, Gift Registry and AAD. As in previous years, the Divisional Finance teams have worked with departments to support value for money and savings initiatives. This year the combined Divisional teams have helped to realise £9.2 million savings across the University

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Financial Assurance Services

Financial Assurance Services was formed in 2006, and is responsible for reporting to the University’s Audit and Scrutiny Committee on the adequacy of the University’s financial regulations, processes and controls, and whether are they operating effectively to ensure that the University’s financial control risks are managed and its objectives achieved. In 2015 the team has undertaken a major revamp of the departmental self-assurance exercise; improved departmental compliance with the expenses policy; and begun the development of a new assurance mapping exercise for the key financial processes.

Sally Vine Head of Assurance

Sophia Mouyis Seconded from PwC to develop a new approach to financial assurance

In 2016, the team will roll out a new assurance mapping approach to the key financial processes, and focus on close working with divisions and departments to raise awareness of controls and compliance and to share best practice.

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Financial Reporting

Financial Reporting team

Ben Heath Group Financial Controller

Alan Glaum Technical & Consolidation Financial Accountant

Michael Frankl Investment and Trusts Financial Accountant

Tanya Cosier Assistant Investment & Trust Accountant

Genieve Boon University Chest Financial Accountant

Daniel Weller Deputy Chest Financial Accountant

Louise Stratton Fixed Asset Accountant

Gemma Greenaway Assistant Fixed Asset Accountant

Helen Parker Assistant Financial Accountant

The Financial Reporting team is responsible for the production of the University's annual financial statements and other external financial reports for bodies such as HEFCE (Higher Education Funding Council for England), HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency) and the ONS (Office for National Statistics). The team is also responsible for the quarterly management accounting and reporting for the University, including period-end processes (monthly, quarterly and year end). Apart from responsibility for general financial accounting, reporting and consolidations, the team also has day-to-day responsibility for the accounting for Fixed Assets and for Investments & Trusts, fixed assets, fee accounting and departmental projects. The team looks after fixed assets of £900m and nearly 3,000 departmental projects including John Fell projects.

Subsidiary Companies team

Tim Postlethwaite Head of Subsidiary Accounts

William Colquhoun Administrative Officer

Kathryn Marshall Senior Accountant

Rachel Walker Accountant

Sam Raynor Senior Assistant Accountant

Julie Seacole Senior Assistant Accountant

Jason Gurney Assistant Accountant

Sue Pedersen Accounts Clerk

The Subsidiary Companies team, headed by Tim Postlethwaite, is responsible for a wide range of activities managed through the subsidiary companies of the University, including the patenting and licensing of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), insurance services, publications, management of the University brand-licensing programme, provision of design-and-build services for capital projects and trading carried out in departments. The Subsidiary Companies team works closely with colleagues in the Finance Division and in the subsidiary companies to ensure that the accounting and statutory functions of the companies are carried out. This includes all routine book-keeping, management accounts, year-end statutory accounts, arrangement of audits, completion of tax filing returns, taking of board minutes, etc. The team ensures that the companies' reporting responsibilities are met, both externally and for the University, and that the Directors understand

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their statutory duties. The team also coordinates the assessment of any proposed new companies and sets these up when required.

KPMG fed back positively on the Subsidiary Companies Team successful year end with no management letter points raised.

Trusts Administration Team

Matthew Fleet Trusts Administrator

Adrienne Lingard Trusts Officer

Tanya Cosier Trust Accountant

The Trusts Administration Team is responsible for managing a number of key functions in relation to the University’s several hundred trust funds. These include investing new funds, maintaining financial accounts, and ensuring that departments comply with the governing terms of funds and other trust obligations. We also service the Trusts Management Board, which sets and oversees implementation of trust fund policies across the University.

The Trusts Admin team have worked with departments to develop spending plans for restricted purpose funds, resulting in a record amount of income being applied on the charitable purposes of the underlying trusts. The Team has also helped the Medical Sciences Division, Faculty of Classics, and Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages to streamline their administration and unlock restricted reserves through the consolidation of around 50 small prize, scholarship and teaching trust funds.

You guys are brilliant. Stuff just happens, no delays, no fuss. Thank you so much!

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FSSC

Financial Systems Customer Services team

Paul Moorhouse Interim Financial Systems Customer Services Manager Tel: 84800

Elisha Ward Elisha is on maternity leave until August 2016

Rima Begum Financial Systems Customer Service Desk Officer Tel: 84800

Tim Birch Financial Systems Customer Service Desk Officer Tel: 84800

Douglas Simpson Financial Helpdesk Officer Tel: 84800

The team are the first point of contact for anyone in the University with a query about Oracle or related financial systems. They field about 1000 calls a month, so it’s busy work! Financial Systems Management team

Helen Cardis Finance Systems Administration and Security Manager

Daniel Blumenow Finance Systems Security Analyst

Denroy Brown Finance Systems Security Analyst

Hamza Azam Finance Systems Security Analyst

Rizwan Shahzad Finance Systems Security Analyst

Rosanah Holmes Finance System Security Analyst

Functional Support

Nik Sharkey Financial Systems Functional Support Team Lead

Chris Bellinger Financials Senior Functional Analyst (Projects)

Helen Cardis Financials Functional Analyst (Projects)

Stephen Lakelin Financials Functional Analyst (Projects)

Jo Pready Financials Functional Analyst (Projects)

Puneet Vishnoi Financials Functional Analyst BAU/ME

Ahmad Omer Financials Functional Analyst BAU/ME

Ronke Joseph Financials Functional Analyst BAU/ME

Senthil Manimaran Financials Functional Analyst BAU/ME

Financials Systems Reporting

Susan Gillis Interim Reporting Manager (covering for Laura de Klein)

Tom Hamilton-Williams Finance Reports Developer

Gemma Moorhouse Finance Reports Support Officer

George Sardar Finance Reports Support Officer

Laura de Klein Currently out of the office

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Financials Programmes

Louise Carson Financials Programme Manager

Mark Kuspisz Enterprise/Functional Architecture

Martin Dix Project Manager

Ilan Shaw Project Manager

Ian Burleigh Project Manager

The Financial System Support Centre (FSSC) was formed in August 2013 combining expertise from the Finance Division and IT Services to provide a collaborative service to all financial system users across the University. They’re currently undergoing a period of review

The FSM team are really helpful!

The Financials Systems Support Centre should be commended for dealing efficiently with our R12 problems.

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Gift Registry

Chris Hayter Head of Gift Registry and Development Office Accounts

Graham Darling Gift Registry Accountant (Interim to Dec 2015)

Shirley Roberson Gift Registry Officer

Christy McNish Gift Registry Supervisor

Ilana Sterrie Gift Registry Accountant (from Nov 2015)

Gina Saunders Accounts Assistant

Sarah Gibbard Part-time Gift Registry Assistant

Nicky James Gift Registry Assistant

Jamie Sutton Gift Registry Assistant

The Gift Registry team is responsible for the processing of all philanthropic donations received by the University and it also provides this service for many of the colleges. The total volume of processed gifts reached a record 55,229 items in 2014/15 (even before the impact of Cecil the Lion is included), represented by payments via bank transfer, direct debit, standing order, credit and debit cards and cheques. Many gifts are received via a wide range of intermediate entities such as Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) and Virgin Money, plus those processed via our Hong Kong subsidiary charity and Americans for Oxford.

The team enters all donation payments and pledges onto the DARS database and then into Oracle Financials, transferring the funds to departments, endowment funds, capital programmes or research projects, colleges, in accordance with the donor’s wishes and claims Gift Aid on eligible donations. In addition, the Gift Registry provides accounting services for the University Development Office and its three overseas Development Offices in New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

You have a very good team, Chris, and I appreciate their efforts and client

service very much.

Who could forget Cecil the Lion?! His killing in Zimbabwe at the July 2015 year end triggered a flood of donations to the University’s WildCRU unit, which the Gift Registry team handled - rising to the challenges that occur when website traffic increases by over 1,200% in 24 hours at the July year end. They were a key part of the process that secured over $1million for the WildCRU campaign, and introduced thousands of new philanthropists to the University.

You can find out more about their experience in the wake of the killing of Cecil the Lion by viewing their Insight Session, here.

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Insurance

Lyndie Hayes Insurance Manager

Linda Greig Insurance Officer

Andrew Bodkin Insurance Assistant

The Insurance Team arranges cover for the University's property, travel, motor vehicles and legal liabilities such as employers' liability and professional indemnity. Certain specific 'ad-hoc' covers are also arranged. On average, the team process 250 claims from minor damage to a vehicle to large scale building repairs running in to the millions.

The team is always extremely helpful and highly knowledgeable. They always make the time for my questions

The team works on the many capital projects to ensure suitable property protection measures are included within the building design, so that our buildings, our equipment and most importantly our staff are as safe as possible in the first place. Much of the University's insurance cover is arranged

through Oxford Mutual Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the University.

Every year brings surprises to the Insurance team: last year was no exception, with requests for insuring driverless cars, drone-based research with wolves in Ethiopia, and research trips to the Ebola zones of West Africa and to the ISIS-held areas of North Africa. Floods and fire also played a part, and importantly, the Insurance team negotiated one of the most cost effective insurance premiums in the sector.

Above: Oxford University researchers grapple with the Ebola crisis in West Africa

Right: Photo taken by Oxford University researcher in ISIS stronghold, North Africa

You can learn more about the wild and wonderful work of the insurance team in Lyndie Hayes’ Insight Session, here. Watch your step!

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Payments

Helen Grieves Head of Payment Services

Yvonne Butler Payments Supervisor

Cara Pullen Senior Payments Assistant

Amanda Barnett Payments Assistant

Karolina Gatkiewicz Payments Assistant

James Beveridge Senior Payments Assistant: Reporting

Charlotte Eld Payments Assistant

Becca Giles Payments Team Leader (Wednesday - Friday)

Hazel Evans Senior Payments Assistant

Lydia Manfo-Obeng Payments Assistant

Rob Doran Payments Assistant

Victoria King Payments Assistant (Wednesday - Friday)

Josh Perrin Payments Assistant

Emily Russell Payments Projects Officer

The Payments team processes over 2,000 payment transactions a week on behalf of the wider University. These include payments to suppliers and reimbursement of staff expenses. The team is responsible for inputting expense claims into Oracle Financials, matching invoices to Purchase Orders, liaising with suppliers and dealing with any related problems. This also includes resolving old Purchase Orders and holds, and managing payment transfers and cheque runs.

The Payments is very efficient, and seems to me to be unfazed by any of our enquiries. Keep it up!

The Payments team spent much of 2015 in transformation: reviewing processes and working to make things more streamlined and efficient. This included the introduction of a data loader, to take the pressure off individual staff members across the University inputting accurate information. A number of members of staff were promoted, and some temporary staff were promoted to permanent positions, so it’s been a year of change.

Their support and expertise is invaluable to us and much appreciated!

Against this backdrop, they still processed huge volumes of paperwork and successfully handled queries from departments and divisions, achieved a successful completion of their processes for year end deadlines, and managed to complete all the payment runs, including those for student bursaries, when Oracle went down at the beginning of October.

You can find out more about the changes afoot in the team by reading Helen Grieves’ Insight Session, here.

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Payroll

Charlie Morgan Payroll Manager

Alison Coldstream Deputy Payroll Manager (Main and Pensioners)

Valerie Drew Deputy Payroll Manager (Casual Payroll, Pensioners, Bureau Service and Relocation)

Diane Brooks Payroll Officer

Jo Taylor Payroll Officer

Magda Koczan Payroll Officer

Pauline Measor Payroll Officer

Sally Pinnington Payroll Officer

Tracy Gunnett Payroll Officer (Casual Payroll)

Tracy Roberts Payroll Systems Administrator

Roxie Price Casual Payroll Assistant

Martina Zagaria Royalties Officer

Jo Strutt (Maternity leave) Payroll Officer (Casual Payroll)

Helene Sheridan Relocation Scheme Officer

The Payroll team deal with all departments and divisions of the University and is responsible for the timely and accurate payment of all University salaries and wages. They also advise on employment tax matters, royalties, expenses and benefits, manage the University Relocation scheme and fulfil the University’s statutory payroll obligations.

Superb; extremely responsive and helpful

The Payroll team operates two University payrolls: The main monthly payroll which includes payments to casual workers and the pension’s payroll. The Payroll team is responsible for the timely and accurate payment of over 12,000 staff, plus 2,000 casual workers and over 3,000 pensioners each month.

The Payroll team are always helpful, knowledgeable and efficient

October 2015 saw the introduction of the HRIS Core upgrade, to v20. The Payroll team’s preparation for this was carried out smoothly and ahead of time, without any impact on their important day to day work.

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Pensions

Jan Killick Head of Pensions

Dominic Checksfield Senior Finance Officer

Linda Howse Support and Finance Administrator

Marie Hough Pensioners' Welfare Officer

David James Pensions Officer

Sue Crowder Pensions Administrator (surnames A-J and Colleges)

Amanda Travi Pensions Administrator (surnames K-Z and Colleges)

Alan Cunningham Pensions Manager

Chiara Browning Pensions Administrator (surnames A-G)

Jayne Hewitt Pensions Administrator (surnames H-S)

Cassie Butcher Senior Pensions Administrator (surnames T-Z)

Tony Windscheffel Information Systems & Support Coordinator

The Pensions Office is responsible for managing the pension arrangements of the University. It administers the pension schemes operated by the University for employees as well as overseeing the schemes run by third parties. The transactions the team handle include collecting and recording contributions, bringing pensions into payment (including any tax free lump sum) and paying pensions through the payroll, processing claims for ill-health retirement, preserving benefits on leaving service, paying refunds of contributions where appropriate and effecting transfers from and to other schemes. Interaction with and support for pension members extends beyond their time at the University, with the part-time Pensioners’ Welfare Visitor continuing to help University pensioners.

The Pensions Office supports the University in its compliance with the raft of pension legislation including pension auto-enrolment and taxation of pensions. Currently, the Pensions Office as a whole maintains the database of over 40,000 records for members and former members of the schemes. During 2015 the Pensions team co-ordinated the University’s consultation process on the changes to USS benefits. It held 28 briefing sessions with bookings from over 430 employees.

Taking advantage of the new pension freedoms, the team contacted pensioners with small pensions offering them the opportunity to convert their pension into cash. Over 300 pensioners took up the offer. Marie Hough, pensioner welfare officer, illustrates the impact this had.

One of our pensioners I visited yesterday is delighted to have the opportunity to take her very small pension (£40 a month) as a lump sum. This is enabling her to clear her debt of £7,000 with around £2,000 left over to buy a new Mac to help her in her work as she is a writer. She was making payments of £170 a month but it only ever seemed to clear a £100 a year off the debt and she could see no way of that improving. Now she will have that extra £170 a month to live on plus a slight increase in pension credit with her no longer having a monthly income from us. She is most grateful for this opportunity which has really improved her situation.

Looking forward to 2016, the team were given the “green light” to replace the 20 year old pension administration system.

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Purchasing

Mark Bowen Director of Purchasing

Jo Sibbald Deputy Director of Purchasing

Emma May Purchasing Analyst

Tim Frost Purchasing Manager (Science)

Claire Seeley Purchasing Manager (Corporate Expenditure)

Charles Spencer-Jones Purchasing Manager

Nathan Clulow Category Buyer (Professional Services)

Luke Johnson Category Buyer (IT)

Christine Aherne Category Buyer (Science - Equipment)

Emma Jayne Corkish Category Buyer (Science - Consumables)

Lily McMullen Assistant Buyer

Tim Philipson Administrative Assistant

The University Purchasing Department provides a number of services to all parties in the University, including the negotiation of preferred supplier agreements that offer best value for money; information regarding the tender process; and the provision of a purchasing system. In addition, the Purchasing team is responsible for the maintenance and integrity of Supplier information within Oracle Financials.

Purchasing are excellent. They respond to any queries I have very quickly and always provide the exact information I need.

The Purchasing team were awarded the top ranking in the recent Purchasing maturity exercise – meaning we’re ranked highest in the HE sector.

SUPERIOR University of Oxford 2015

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Research Accounts

Operations team

Stephen Barker

Interim Head of Research

Accounts

Klajdia Bullari

Interim Operations Manager

Natalie Stamp Currently on maternity leave

Dean Callaghan

Claims Manager

Kristy Smitten

Claims Manager

Monika Klim

Claims Manager

Anna Karlinska

Senior Claims Advisor

Phuong Bassett-Jones

Senior Claims Advisor

Christopher Daniels

Senior Claims Advisor

Ciaran Starrett

Senior Claims Advisor

Laura Hill

Senior Claims Advisor

Ricardo Alves

Senior Claims Advisor

Ian Griffiths

Claims Manager

Stephen Vincent

Senior Claims Advisor

Accounting and Development Team

Marius Apetrei

Accounting Manager

James Boon

Accounting and Development Specialist

Kam Miles

Accounting Support Specialist

Wayne Peters

Accounts Receivable Advisor

Assurance team

Sam Hannis

Assurance Manager

Tequila Osborne

EU Assurance Manager

Shahina Begum

Claims Manager – Training Centre Awards

Brenda Marowa

Senior Claims Advisor – Training Centre Awards

Evelyn Zachari

Senior Claims Advisor- Training Centre Awards

Research Accounts is responsible for raising claims, invoices and statements to research customers

and for managing research debt.

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The Operations team is responsible for all internal and external reporting on the financial aspects of

research, including supporting departments in meeting financial assurance requirements. The team

also sets up and amends research awards on the grants module of Oracle Financials and is

responsible for all internal and external reporting on the financial aspects of research.

This team has improved massively over the last few years

The Accounting team has a key role in managing the reconciliation of Research Projects back to the

general ledger and ensuring that the relevant processes have completed in the projects

ledger. They have made improvements to their procedures throughout the year to ensure that the

year end closure was completed efficiently and with no issues.

Always friendly and professional

The Assurance team has also had a busy year - in 2015 they have dealt with over 100 European

Commission financial certifications and over 30 other separate audits which have looked at over a

100 further projects. Audits have included review of institutional practice by the Research

Councils, Wellcome Trust, Cancer Research UK and the National Institutes of Health (U.S.). In

particular, positive feedback has been received during the Research Councils and National Institutes

of Health (U.S.) audits.

Works patiently with individuals to understand a problem and then provides

useful information

Throughout the year the team has also transitioned Training awards from the divisions into

Research Accounts and managed the change to a consistent structure throughout all divisions.

Research Accounts works closely with departmental finance officers and administrators, and with

Research Services, which is responsible for managing pre-award activities with departments.

Always helpful knowledgeable and efficient

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Tax

Sean Anderson Head of Treasury and Tax Services

John Huke Tax Manager

Philip Hayes VAT Manager

James Sherbourne VAT Accountant

David Creasey VAT Assistant

The University is bound by a wide variety of commercial taxes, despite being a not-for-profit charitable institution. These may represent a significant cost, or a compliance duty, or both. The team act as an interface between HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and the University, to mitigate the time and cost burden attached to this work. Additionally, the team manages the royalty distribution process in accordance with University Statutes and tax compliance.

They are always extremely helpful and highly knowledgeable. They always make the time for my questions

They pride themselves on assisting University Departments to meet these legal responsibilities with minimal interference and having established a first class relationship with HMRC. Some recent examples include effective liaison on the design of major new building projects, creating a new VAT group registration number for the University to cut ‘VAT leakage’, improving the quality of web materials and streamlining the previously time-consuming Intrastat reporting.

In 2015 they worked hard to make their team more customer-focused, creating training courses that have been so popular the team had to add more dates. They developed monthly reporting tools and a newsletter, as well as new website material and guidance.

Furthermore, PwC completed an R12 VAT Assurance review and strongly endorsed the tax engine, and the team successfully claimed £66 million in RDEC tax claims up to July 2015.

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Training

Lesley Hambelton Head of Training

Belinda Birch Finance Trainer

Cathy Gannon Finance Trainer

Duncan Young Finance Trainer

Jane Tomlins Finance Trainer

The Training team is responsible for all training related to Oracle Financials, staff development of the Finance Division and any finance-related training required by departments. The team provides a range of courses on which all staff can book themselves, and work closely with both Financial Assurances and Communications teams.

I cannot fault the training service. The organisers are helpful, friendly and fast and the training provided is in depth and has excellent resources. I have never encountered such an excellent training 'service' in any company that I have worked for.

The Training and Learning Team delivers training to University staff on finance-related topics. You may be aware that they train staff on the various aspects of Oracle Financials, but did you know that they also train people on Marketplace, the Online Stores and advanced activities in Excel, as well as the broader topics of financial management at the University?

The team delivers training courses, gives bespoke tutorials, and provides support documentation and e-training. It also works on other staff development activities, such as induction and masterclasses.

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Treasury

Sean Anderson Head of Treasury & Tax Services

Jan Smith Treasury Manager

Claudia Valiente Finance Officer, Treasury (Banking & Controls)

The Treasury Team look after the University’s cash management, liquidity and funding, foreign exchange requirements and handle its bank and debt relationships... and they still manage to be friendly and approachable!

The University’s income of over £1.6bn passes through the team’s processes each year, so it’s important this is looked after and made available when needed. Ensuring the right processes and controls over the University’s bank accounts are in place, and working, is a key part of Treasury, as is managing the relationships with banks and other counterparties. Forecasts of cash and currency requirements are used to inform the investment and foreign exchange activities. A range of counterparties are used to get the best returns and to spread our risk. These include banks and external asset managers as well as Oxford University Endowment Managers. Loans are also managed by the team, and although this is not a very large part of the University’s funding at present, it could form a more important part in the future. The team also hedge the overall foreign exchange exposures of the University and convert excess foreign exchange into sterling.

Successes for the Treasury team this year includes the accurate and timely reconciliation of all of the bank accounts despite well over £1.6bn of income and a similar level of expenditure, and the negotiation of a £200 million loan from the European Investment Bank, at an interest rate of 2.55%.