News & Events
Life at Rowleys – Sarah Faulconbridge
5th May 2024
Sarah Faulconbridge is a specialist medical accountant at Rowleys. Here, Sarah shares more about her role and life at Rowleys.
What is your position at Rowleys?
Qualified Senior
Why did you choose to follow a career in accountancy?
When I was in year 10 at school I had the chance to substitute two of my GCSEs to undertake an NVQ at a local college. My NVQ was in Business, Administration and Finance, and it was the finance aspect of the qualification that I most enjoyed. Although it was basic, it sparked my interest to want to learn more.
What’s different about specialising in medical accountancy?
I think the variety of the work and the close relationship we have with our clients is what makes medical accountancy different. I have my own portfolio of clients, and I will see them through accounts, personal expenses, partnership tax, personal tax, pension certificates and estimates of pensionable profits. Whereas in other areas of accountancy you might only do a small part of this.
Could you describe some of the most rewarding and enjoyable aspects of your work?
Part of the accounts preparation process when analysing NHS income is not necessarily looking at what’s there, it’s looking at what’s missing. Finding potential missed claims or underclaims for practices that could add up to thousands of pounds brings a high level of job satisfaction.
Also, some of our clients have issues with their pension records in terms of PCSE and have missing years of certificates and therefore their record is not up to date. Finally getting to the bottom of some of these issues and working with clients to help them to get to where they need to be can be really rewarding. It’s often a stressful time for them and they always appreciate the effort you put in to help get these issues resolved.
What sort of person is likely to thrive as a specialist medical accountant? What skills and personal attributes do you need?
I think to thrive as a medical accountant you need to be interested and enthusiastic to dig a little bit deeper into things, rather than just taking something at face value. Attention to detail and problem solving are key.
Having the skill of communicating efficiently with GPs and practice managers is a big factor. Often they can find it hard to understand some aspects of finance and having someone approachable on the end of the phone will put them at ease which will benefit a better working relationship.
What would your advice be for someone looking to develop their career as a medical specialist accountant? Any top tips?
You have to take the time to really understand the sector you’re working in to enable you to grow as a medical specialist accountant. The different aspects of the NHS with regards to income streams, claims, funding schemes, pensions, and grants etc are all so niche, so to be able to really thrive in this role you need to understand the environment of the clients as much as your own.
What’s life like at Rowleys?
I like working for Rowleys because I am surrounded by a great team of people who create an enjoyable work environment. Every day is different and I enjoy the variety of my workload. Rowleys provide a good work-life balance, and I feel that the firm actively encourages my career growth by celebrating all achievements and pushing my personal development to its full potential.
Join the Rowleys team
To find out more about the current and future opportunities we have at Rowleys please get in touch for an informal chat, or visit our current vacancies page. We’re always keen to hear from talented people who are keen to grow their career with us.