Meet the number crunchers making sure Muir's figures add up
IF YOU have a head for numbers, or even if you haven’t, you might like to know how staff working in Muir’s Finance Team are making things add up.
Muir takes its Value for Money promise seriously and as a result is constantly seeking to enhance service areas without breaking the budget.
One of the people at the sharp end is Muir Group Housing Association’s Finance Manager, Hannah Ormerod.
The 30-year-old Ironman triathlete (right), who also ran the 2016 New York Marathon, has been with Muir for five years and has plenty of experience in making sure the books balance.
Hannah is constantly managing Muir’s accounts as she monitors budgets against our actual spend.
But she has taken some time out from producing Muir’s end of year figures to explain why she enjoys her job so much.
“It is our job to liaise with different departments about policy renewals, claims and ad-hoc queries,” Hannah said.
“We must ensure budgets are being met and realise when any might be exceeded, as well as inputting all purchase invoices and sending out invoices for payment authorisation.
“It is important to ensure we remain financially viable which helps Muir to retain the highest G1 and V1 ratings, against which housing associations are measured.
“It also helps ensure Muir delivers on its Value for Money promise, and so it is an important job with lots of variety and it creates lots of opportunities for problem solving which is something else I enjoy doing.
“It’s good to work with other teams and departments to make a positive difference.
“What we do and how we do it can have a big difference on the lives of our residents and by monitoring our costs effectively we can deliver effective services to our customers.”
Senior Capital Finance Officer, Steve Dobbins (left), is responsible for maintaining Muir’s Asset Register; which covers all the properties on the housing association’s books.
The football fan and self-confessed Evertonian has been at Muir for nearly six years.
But far from singing the blues, Steve is enthusiastic about how his role plays a part in making sure Muir’s homes remain great places to live.
“I look after our component accounting which involves major works or repairs such as new kitchens, bathrooms and heating systems,” said 35-year-old Steve.
“I analyse all the invoices for this work and feed them into our systems so the Asset Register remains up to date.
“I also receive details of our property and shared ownership sales so those accounts can be updated, and work with our maintenance department to help monitor its own budget too.”
Steve said he enjoys being part of a team and that he finds his colleagues helpful and supportive in helping him achieve his daily tasks.
“I like working at Muir because of the people I work with and the job allows me to see things through from start to finish which is also pretty satisfying,” Steve added.
“There is variety but there is also a good team spirit which is important to help make things happen.”
Another of Muir’s Senior Finance Officer’s is James Sharples, 37, (below) who deals with the company’s service charges.
The keen amateur photographer is looking forward to becoming a father later this year.
But he spends his time at Muir monitoring expenditure and service charges while valuing the housing association’s duty of fairness to customers.
“We want to be fair to customers as a housing association,” said James, who joined Muir in October last year.
“We need to be able to justify what we bill them for and make sure we are up to date with any changes in legislation.
“After the rent review, housing association’s needed to ensure they became more mindful of where and how money was spent.
“So I try to have an overview of how we do that, ensure things balance, and continually check what we charge for.
“I enjoy the job because I like to get things right but there is also a good atmosphere in the office.
“I’ve been made really welcome in the relatively short time I’ve been here and Muir is embracing the changes it has to make so it’s great to be a part of.”
To learn more about how people are working in some of the other departments at Muir, visit the links below.
Income Services Officer https://www.muir.org.uk/news/muirs-income-services-officers-say-being-able-to-offer-help-is-our-primary-concern-849
Technical Support https://www.muir.org.uk/news/the-technical-team-keeping-muir-online-all-hours-812
Tenancy Services Officer https://www.muir.org.uk/news/muir-team-member-hits-headlines-as-newspaper-charts-day-in-her-life-785
Customer Service Team https://www.muir.org.uk/news/our-customer-service-team-is-always-happy-to-help-747