Head of Financial Accounts

**Head of Financial Accounts**

**Location: Liverpool**

**Salary: £58,057 - £63,860**

**Grade 7**

As the Head of Financial Accounts, you will lead the Financial Accounts team, providing guidance and support in establishing a controls-based environment, offering advice, and developing policies to ensure compliance with accounting standards, tax regulations, and government financial reporting requirements.

The Head of Financial Accounts is a senior member of the Finance team, responsible for delivering an efficient, effective, and high-quality professional service that meets all reporting requirements.
- Effectively and proactively lead, manage, and motivate the Financial Accounts team, ensuring a culture of high performance, strong engagement, and continuous improvement.
- Provide clear direction and leadership to ensure the team has the capacity, capability, processes, and systems needed to deliver its objectives.
- Develop and monitor financial controls across all financial areas, ensuring the accuracy, integrity, consistency, and quality of the DBS general ledger.
- Lead the development of DBS’ finance and accounting policies, ensuring compliance with the latest standards, regulations, and stakeholder requirements.
- Support the Head of Operational Finance in providing technical guidance to internal stakeholders and preparing accounting papers.
- Oversee the development and delivery of the annual finance timetable, including monthly management accounts, annual budgets, forecasts, and regulatory and stakeholder returns.
- Lead the preparation of all regulatory and stakeholder reporting (including Home Office consolidation) in a timely manner.
- Manage the preparation of the annual audited financial statements and supporting working papers, maintaining open relationships with external auditors and ensuring no material issues arise.
- Oversee monthly cash flow forecasting to ensure that the 3-month working capital requirement is not breached.
- Act as a key point of contact with external auditors and effectively manage the audit process.
- Ensure departmental KPIs are prepared and reported on a timely basis.
- Collaborate with the Head of Management Accounts to ensure accurate and timely management information and reporting.
- Work closely with the Head of Operational Finance and other Finance Heads of Service to improve departmental systems and procedures (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**

**Abilities (essential criteria)**:

- Proven ability to communicate complex matters to a non-financial audience and build effective relationships with senior stakeholders.
- Strong strategic thinking, planning, and analysis skills, with the ability to develop creative solutions to support change and mitigate risks.
- Excellent relationship management, influencing, facilitation, and presentation skills.
- Presence and credibility to engage confidently with senior colleagues across the organisation.
- Resilience in challenging circumstances, with the ability to work under pressure while remaining calm and decisive.
- Highly effective communicator in person, in writing, and through digital channels.

**Experience (essential criteria)**:

- Demonstrated leadership, management, and communication skills.
- Successful track record in building relationships across finance teams and with wider stakeholders.
- Leading the production of annual reports and accounts.
- Managing the external audit process through to the delivery of audited financial statements.
- Strong knowledge of current accounting standards (IFRS experience and FReM knowledge preferred).
- Communicating complex accounting and tax issues to non-finance stakeholders.
- Developing financial policies, frameworks, and procedures.
- Implementing best practice financial controls.
- Senior Financial Accountant experience, with the ability to manage multiple deliverables to tight deadlines while maintaining robust controls.
- Experience in driving process improvements to increase efficiency.
- Experience coaching and developing finance colleagues.

**Technical (essential criteria)**:

- Must hold an accounting qualification and active membership with a recognised CCAB accountancy body or CIMA.

**Behaviours**

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

- Leadership
- Developing Self and Others
- Managing a Quality Service
- Working Together
- Communicating and Influencing
- Making Effective Decisions

**Technical skills**

**We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process**:

- Testing technical accounting knowledge based on IFRS

**Benefits**

Alongside your salary of £58,057, Disclosure & Barring Service contributes £16,819 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

The DBS