Senior Financial Accountant

Venesky-Brown’s client, a public sector organisation in Edinburgh/Glasgow, is currently looking to recruit a Senior Financial Accountant for a 9-month contract with a possible option to extend for a further 9 months on a rate of £325-£375/day (Inside IR35). Hybrid working with occasional onsite working.
 
Responsibilities
 
– Manage the preparation and delivery of the year end statutory annual accounts and the underlying working files, ensuring compliance with best practice and current IFRS, FReM, HMT Consolidated Budgeting Guidance and SPFM requirements.
– Interface with other key stakeholders to deliver the production of the annual report and accounts (e.g. communications team).
– Line manage an Assistant Financial Accountant, who is working towards qualification, and manage their performance, development and technical capability.
– Produce and maintain the annual accounts framework to ensure compliance with all accounting requirements and legislation.
– Act as key contact for the external audit from planning through to closure. Gather audit evidence and high-quality backup documentation and prepare supporting notes for audit review.
– Act as key technical accounting specialist, providing expert advice, overseeing complex accounting judgements, reviewing accounting policies and ensuring accurate reporting of material and high-risk balances including provisions, impairments, IFRS 16 and WIP.
– Support senior managers and budget holders by providing specialist advice on key strategic financial accounting matters to support capital accounting, budgeting and forecast outturns, financial planning and risk management.
– Responsible for VAT compliance, including preparation and submission of quarterly VAT returns.
– Responsible for capital accounting, in accordance with the relevant IFRS accounting standards and policies and procedures, and the management and verification of the Fixed Asset Register (Real Asset Management: Asset 4000) Liaising with business partners to ensure accurate profiling of capital budgets, valuations, impairment review and balance sheets classification.
– Collaborate with the Management Accountants team to support the assessment of AME Budgetary requirements and the overall financial outturn position reported to the Executive Management Team (EMT), Audit and Risk Committee (ARC), Board and the Scottish Government.
– Ensure that best practice financial controls, alongside appropriate guidance and documentation, are in place, up to date and operating effectively within the finance team and the wider organisation.
– Manage and deliver the National Fraud Initiate (NFI) process to support Counter Fraud policies and procedures.
– Manage submission of the Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) and statistical returns.
– Manage the CIS Submissions.
– Work with others and outside agencies to continuously improve service provision and make suggestions for improvements to systems and processes.
– Any other ad-hoc duties commensurate with the role/grade
 
Essential Skills:
 
– Experience of managing a team, with the ability to communicate complex issues simply and effectively to a range of audiences
– Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to communicate the strategic implications of complex financial issues
– Strong analytical skills – able to provide constructive challenge, identify opportunities for improving and streamlining processes, and encouraging colleagues to think innovatively in order to make improvements.
– Demonstrates a commercial, financial and sustainable mind set to ensure all activities and services deliver added value. Works collaboratively to delivers its strategic outcomes within the resources available.
– Ability to work across teams, planning and driving forward longerterm work whilst managing shorter term demands to deliver to deadlines, and leading teams to deliver high-quality outputs under pressure.
– Adaptable and willing to review role and priorities to meet the current and future needs of the organisation. Demonstrable ability to think strategically about financial management issues.
– Qualified with Membership of a CCAB professional body (or UK equivalent).
– Experience of delivering an audited set of statutory accounts
– Strong technical accounting knowledge (IFRS) with knowledge of FreM, SPFM and Consolidated Budgeting Guidance highly desirable.
– Very competent in the use of finance systems
– Highly proficient in use of Microsoft Excel.
 
If you would like to hear more about this opportunity please get in touch.