Media centre

Monday 6 Sep 2004

NETWORK RAIL FINANCE DEPARTMENT GRADUATES WITH HONOURS

Region & Route:

To keep engineering work and project schemes in line, Network Rail needs the best of the best controlling it’s finances – and now it has proved it has them.  The Finance Shared Services department, based in Manchester, has been awarded a Quality Partnership certificate from CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) in recognition of the excellent training scheme that has been developed nationally for graduate accountants entering the company.   Network Rail’s Group Finance Director, Ron Henderson, said: “This is an important award for Network Rail.  We are committed to providing first class training for all our people and this confirms the excellent progress we have made in the last 18 months.” The finance department ensures that the company secures appropriate funding and gets the best value for the money it spends.  The Shared Services team is responsible for all transaction processing that supports the financial and business activities of the company.  The partnership certificate is given to select organisations that show commitment to training graduates and have the dedication to invest in the future of their team.  In order to achieve this certificate Network Rail had to meet stringent criteria set by CIMA, which involved five benchmark standards that relate to different activities within the training process. -more- Excellence – 2 CIMA internationally represent financial managers and accountants who work in industry, commerce, not-for-profit and public sector organisations.  Their focus is to qualify over 80,000 students and support it’s 62,000 members in around 155 countries.  They work with leading employers in the UK and around the world to train and qualify financial managers.  Network Rail has been recognised by CIMA as one of these leading employers. Robert Jelly, CIMA’s Director of Education said:  "We have recognised Network Rail's commitment to producing the business leaders of tomorrow and I am delighted to welcome them as a new CIMA Quality Training Partner"   Network Rail’s finance department is already recognised for its dedication to developing graduates by providing schemes such as a ‘Year in Industry’ for students wanting vital work experience during their degree.  The team was also presented with a Highly Commended Employee of the Year award from CIMA in 2001. The department continues to show dedication to its new recruits by improving and developing the training initiatives in place.  Network Rail provides a professional induction programme that involves many schemes such as a ‘buddy’ system and a mentoring process.  A Quality and Improvement manager works with trainees to assign specific projects to them based on ability and skill, and the department also works with a professional accountants trainer so that there is professional support and monitoring for graduates during exam stages. Network Rail will continue to invest in young people.  Although this award is the top accolade from CIMA the department will still strive for further acknowledgement with a goal of achieving another ‘Employee of the Year’ award.  Through this most recent training partnership it is hoped that it can now build stronger relationships with universities throughout the UK, with a view to seeking out the highest calibre of graduates to become a first class finance team for Network Rail in the future.