Accountant

Job Description

Job Category : Interims
Location : ALEXANDRA HOUSE, London Borough of Haringey
Hours Per Week : 36.00
Start Date : Immediate Start
Start Time :09:00
End Time :17:30
Salary: £199.46 Per Day

Must have local government experience
Working knowledge of adults or children’s social care.
Experience of SAP and social care finance systems such as Controcc or Mosaic would be useful.
Should be self-starter
Should have good interpersonal skills to work with budget holders
Initially 3 months pending finance structure review
will consider hybrid working but initially 2/3 days in office, will be more flexible once confidence is gained in delivering role outcomes.

Financial Planning
• To provide support to managers or budget holders to help identify savings or improvements, which may include the modelling of savings and growth proposals for inclusion in the Medium Term Financial Strategy.

Budget Monitoring/Financial Reporting
• To ensure that budget holders are equipped with the appropriate skills enabling them to demonstrate financial ownership for all aspects of their service.
• To promote budget holder housekeeping of budgets recorded on the general ledger, presenting them in the way that best reflects expected activity levels and the need for completing statistical returns.
• Ensure that material issues are identified, and financial risks are reported.
• To produce timely, accurate information for statutory returns, grant claims, taxation returns, relevant FOI requests and other requests for financial information.
• To review the Council’s financial balances, transactions or budget monitoring including reviews of timeliness and quality of forecasts entered by budget holders.

Closure of Accounts
• To ensure budget holders are aware of the closure timetable and protocols to follow to ensure that the appropriate year-end adjustments (Accurals, etc) are actioned.
• To prepare disclosure notes and working papers associated with the Councils statutory Statement of Accounts.
• To satisfactorily respond to complex internal and external audit queries and recommendations in line with the Council’s current audit protocol

Other

• Participate in all council staff management and development processes including appraisals, my conversation, finance forum etc.
• To undertake training and development in order to fulfil the requirements of the role

Additional Duties for PO3

• To represent the section in the absence of the Principal Accountant.
• To provide support to budget holders in undertaking more complex financial modelling.
• To support service areas with higher risk or more volatile budgets, or service areas with complex legislative requirements surrounding expenditure, income and financial reporting.
• To independently complete more complex closure of accounts work such as preparing working papers and liaising with external audit as necessary.

Knowledge, Qualifications, Skills and Experience

• Educated to A level or equivalent and a minimum of GCSE level Mathematics.
• AAT or part qualification or working towards membership of appropriate professional body by examination and/or evidence of continuing professional development (CPD).
• Excellent communication and analytical skills including giving presentations.
• Ability to work with high level internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to exercise initiative and good judgement in delivering service and Council aims and objectives