24.41 Head of Financial Accounts

**Details**:
**Reference number**:

- 354087**Salary**:

- £53,400 - £62,000- A Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%**Job grade**:

- Grade 7**Contract type**:

- Permanent**Business area**:

- Finance and Corporate Services**Type of role**:

- Finance**Working pattern**:

- Flexible working, Full-time, Part-time**Number of jobs available**:

- 1Contents

Location

About the job

**Benefits**:
Things you need to know

Location
- Darlington, LiverpoolAbout the job

**Job summary**:
As the Head of Financial Accounts, your role will be lead the Financial Accounts team, providing guidance and support in establishing a controls-based environment, to provide advice, and develop policies, to ensure compliance with accounting standards, tax regulations, and other government financial reporting requirements

The Head of Financial Accounts is a senior member of the Finance team and is responsible for providing an efficient, effective and high-quality professional service meeting all reporting requirements.

**Job description**:

- Effectively and proactively lead, manage and motivate the Financial Accounts team ensuring that there is a culture of high performance, strong engagement and a commitment to continuous improvement
- Lead and manage the Financial Accounts team, providing direction and influence that ensures the team has the required capacity, capability, processes and systems to deliver its objectives
- Develop and monitor financial controls for all financial areas, ensuring the accuracy, integrity, consistency & quality of the DBS general ledger
- Lead the development of DBS’ finance and accounting policies, ensuring compliance with latest standards, regulatory and stakeholder requirements
- Support the Head of Operational Finance in the provision of technical guidance to all internal stakeholders and in the preparation of accounting papers
- Lead the development and delivery of the annual finance timetable, encompassing but not limited to monthly management accounts, annual budgets, forecasts, regulatory and stakeholder returns as required
- Lead and manage the timely preparation of all regulatory and stakeholder (including Home Office consolidation) reporting
- Lead and manage the preparation of the annual audited financial statements, and supporting working papers, while maintaining good and open relationships with external auditors, ensuring no material issues arise within the external audit
- Oversee the preparation of the monthly cash flow forecasting to ensure that the 3-month (working capital) cash requirement is not breached
- Oversee and manage all Financial Accounts activities including any centralised requisitioning, journals and reconciliations, as well as the effective stewardship and compliance reviews.
- Act as a key point of contact with external auditors and effectively manage the external audit process.
- Ensure appropriate departmental KPIs are prepared and reported on a timely basis
- To work closely with the Head of Management Accounts to ensure the timely completion of accurate management information and reporting
- To work closely with the Head of Operational Finance and other Finance Heads of Service to improve the department’s systems and procedures, both IT and non-IT based.
- Deputise for the Head of Operational Finance when required.
- Undertake additional duties appropriate to the role and/or grade

**Person specification**:
Ability essential criteria
- Proven ability to communicate complex matters to a non-financial audience and to build effective relationships with senior stakeholders
- Strategic thinking, planning and analysis skills, with the ability to develop creative solutions to support the management of change and mitigate associated risks
- Excellent relationship management, influencing, facilitation and presentation skills
- Presence and credibility to work with senior colleagues across the organisation
- Highly organised and able to plan and manage a broad portfolio of activities
- Resilience in challenging circumstances: ability to work under pressure, remaining calm but decisive.
- Highly effective communicator in person, in writing and in electronic media.

Experience essential criteria
- Highly developed people leadership, management and communication skills
- Successful relationship-building with own staff team members and wider Finance department
- Leading the annual report and accounts production process
- Managing the external audit process through to the delivery of annual audited financial statements
- Excellent knowledge of latest accounting standards (IFRS experience and FReM knowledge preferred)
- Communicating complex accounting and tax issues to non-finance stakeholders
- Developing financial policies, frameworks and procedures
- Best practice financial controls
- Experience within a senior Financial Accountant role and ability to draw upon practicable experience of managing multiple deliverables to tight timescales