Meet The Team: Get To Know Bernadette Kennedy!

We’d like to introduce you to Bernadette Kennedy, who is our Reporting Accountant in the Finance Department here at Nehemiah Housing.

Some of you may already know Bernadette but for those who don’t, this is a fantastic opportunity to become familiar with who she is and what she does – and discover more about how she is supporting you, behind the scenes, as a Nehemiah tenant.

How Long Has Bernadette Worked For Nehemiah?

Bernadette has been with Nehemiah for nearly 20 years, after she started working for the newly merged organisation of Nehemiah UCHA on 1^st April 2007.

What Attracted Bernadette To Work In Finance Within The Housing Sector?

In her words: “Since working for British Gas on a Youth Opportunity Scheme when I was 16, I’ve loved working in finance. My first permanent job after the Youth Opportunity Scheme was as an Office Junior for a Chartered Accountants in Birmingham and this taught me a lot, boosting both my confidence and knowledge of the sector.

“In 2006, I visited United Churches Housing Association (UCHA) to assist with their financial reporting. It was during this time that UCHA was embarking on a merger with Nehemiah Housing Association. Once the merger was near completion, the new organisation was looking to employ a further Finance Officer – I was invited to apply for this role and, as they say, the rest is history.

“Through the work I had done with UCHA, I gained an interest in the social housing sector and how, as a not-for-profit organisation, the wellbeing of tenants is at the heart of what they do, reinvesting profits into their homes. The caring ethos also aligned with my own values and attracted me to the role.

“I’ve not looked back since starting at Nehemiah – it’s such a great place to work.”

What Is Bernadette’s Role?

As Reporting Accountant, Bernadette works with all aspects of financial data, reconciling and reporting financial data, with both Nehemiah’s internal teams and external stakeholders.

What Is A Typical Day For Bernadette?

 Every day is a busy one, Bernadette explains.

“The finance team is always busy as financial data changes on a daily basis. There are rent accounts to be updated daily, bank and other reconciliations to be done, contractors’ repair invoices to be processed and paid, vacant properties to be accounted for rent loss, quarterly accounts to be produced, committee and stakeholder reports to be produced, Right to Acquire applications to be evaluated and processed – and so much more!

“Registered Social Landlords are highly regulated, so there isn’t a day that goes by when, as a team, we aren’t asked for some form of financial data.

“Usually, my first job each day is to check my emails. As we deal with many stakeholders – from local authorities, other housing associations, tenants, and other teams – emails are usually the first point of contact. It’s important to keep on top of communications and requests for financial data.

“The rest of my day often involves responding to emails. I produce extensive reports, including accounting, budget reports, Key Performance reports and bespoke data analysis for both internal and external monitoring.

“I work closely with all the other departments, providing financial support and monitoring data. This is why communication is such a key part of my role alongside all the numbers.”

What Happens During Key Reporting Periods Like Year End?

Bernadette explains: “Reconciliation, reconciliation – nothing is ever reported without ensuring that all financial data is checked and verified. We have robust systems in place to ensure that every penny that comes in or goes out of the organisation is accurately recorded.

“Our production of year-end accounts includes accruals and prepayments, ensuring that transactions are appropriately apportioned to the relevant accounting year. Reports are produced comparing the annual costs to budgets and where variances are identified these are interrogated.

“Key Performance reports are produced, and we benchmark our performance against other Registered Social Landlords to review our performance and look for areas of improvement.

“We work closely with our external auditors to produce the Financial Statements for submission to the regulators and publication.”

What Key Skills Or Qualities Are Essential For A Reporting Accountant?

“I’ve always liked maths, and this is a definite bonus when working in this role,” says Bernadette.

“You need to have a good understanding of financial reporting and accounting as well as an understanding of the business and the financial drivers and be able to work accurately and interrogate data correctly.

“It’s important you can tell the story behind the numbers – to be able to communicate the knowledge confidently and clearly to enable others to understand.”

What Is The Most Challenging Part Of The Role?

Bernadette is constantly juggling jobs in her role.

“Being versatile, juggling lots of different jobs at one time,” she says, adding: “Working in finance, you need to be a multitasker – and this is far from easy.”

What About Deadlines?

There are many deadlines in Bernadette’s role so it’s important to plan.

“It’s all about planning – if you don’t plan it doesn’t work,” she explains.

“My diary is always full – dates for deadlines are planned well in advance. Time is money, so you learn to plan your workload quite quickly.”

What Has Bernadette Learnt Since Joining Nehemiah?

In her words: “I’ve learnt lots about the Social Housing sector. Legislation changes all the time – it’s important to keep up to date on what’s happening. Being well informed is important to deliver a good service to our tenants.”

What’s The Most Rewarding Part Of The Role?

Bernadette enjoys making a difference for tenants.

She says: “Helping tenants on the journey from renting to owning their home is really rewarding for me. I’m lucky to be able to build up a relationship with tenants in the Right to Acquire process and can share in the joy of them owning their own home.

“Whilst accounting is much the same in most sectors, in my role at Nehemiah, I get to see a holistic view of the business which brings a human touch to what we do and who we are doing it for – tenants are always at the heart of the business.”

Do You Have Advice For Someone Interested In Working In Finance Within The Housing Sector?

“Yes!”, says Bernadette.

“Go for it – it’s so rewarding.

“If you like maths and working with numbers, are a good communicator and are driven to work hard and make a difference in your role, then you will find working in finance within the housing sector so rewarding.

“I really enjoy my job. I’m part of a great team, can see the positive impact my work has on tenants, and feel valued each and every day.”

What Might Surprise People To Learn About Bernadette?

“I love a quiz,” Bernadette says.

“All quizzes are great – whether it’s The Chaser, 1% Club or a good old fashioned pub quiz – I really enjoy quizzes.”

Nehemiah Is Here To Help & Support

Tenants’ wellbeing is at the core of all Bernadette and her team do – and all of us here at Nehemiah, in fact.

We fully appreciate that tenants are the most knowledgeable with regards to our services and areas for improvement. This is why we want our tenants to engage, get involved and give us feedback whenever they can, and this includes on aspects of how our Finance Department operates.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our Meet The Team with Bernadette. To find out more about Bernadette’s role at Nehemiah or to ask her a question about finances at Nehemiah, you can contact your Housing Officer or call us on 0121 358 0966 or email contact@nehemiah.co.uk  and we will do all we can to help you.