Senior Accountant

Full Job Description

The Senior Accountant is responsible for supporting non-finance teams in monitoring and maintaining their budgets, as well as delivering on technical, finance and accountancy-related responsibilities.

The Senior Accountant will provide accurate, timely and comprehensive financial information and analysis to inform decision-making and financial management activities.

The post holder will support the management, development and updating of the medium-term financial strategy and annual budget to ensure that it supports the strategic aims of the Council.

This role is hybrid, it will be a mixture of office based and home working.

Qualifications

• A recognised professional/technical accountancy qualification/part qualification (e.g. CIPFA, ACA, ACCA, CIMA) or equivalent.
• Desirable - Educated to degree level.

Knowledge & Skills

• Knowledge of financial regulations and accounting standards relevant to local government.
• Significant experience of budget setting and budget monitoring activity.
• Experience of supporting and challenging budget holders responsible for financial management.
• Excellent technical accounting knowledge.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to provide financial advice and guidance to both finance and non-finance colleagues.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build relationships with stakeholders across the organisation.
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office, particularly Excel.
• Desirable - Knowledge of local government finance and political matters.

Experience

• Significant experience of working in a financial monitoring role.
• Experience of successfully working in a team environment.
• Significant experience of applying technical accounting knowledge as part of financial management practices.
• Experience of in-depth support on financial year-end/closedown processes.
• Experience of producing statutory financial returns in line with deadlines.
• Demonstrable experience of maintaining financial control mechanisms, including reconciliation activity.