Senior Accountant

The role

Job Title: Senior Accountant

Salary: £38,133 - £55,758

Permanent

Fulltime

Location: Wandsworth Town Hall SW18 2PU 

Are you experienced in Local Government Finance? Or are you actively studying or recently qualified and looking for that next step up the accountancy ladder? If yes, we invite you to consider the opportunities we have at the London Borough of Richmond and Wandsworth Borough Council Shared Staffing Arrangement. 

An exciting development opportunity has arisen to appoint two Senior Accountants in the Corporate Accountancy Team after successful external promotions of previous post holders.

About the role:

The successful candidates will look after an area of specialism within the Corporate Accountancy Team as detailed below. We would encourage any potential candidates who have an interest or experience in any of these areas to apply.

The Corporate Accountancy Team’s Function 

The team’s primary task is to close the Accounts for both Councils, which includes the production of the Statement of Accounts and leading the team and wider finance colleagues through the subsequent external audit. The team also has the day-to-day responsibility for capital (strategy and reporting, in year monitoring, and financing), financial accounting, the Collection Fund, a large combined investment portfolio of £850m, treasury and cashflow management, banking administration, asset accounting, and taxation accounting and advice. 

Quality Improvement 

The Senior Accountants (6 in total) support and work closely with the Corporate Accountancy Managers (2 in total) plus the Chief Accountant in providing high quality technical work, supporting the ambition to be a high-level technical knowledge hub. The post holders will also support the continuous improvement in the wider Financial Management Service alongside the Director of Financial Management through project work, and the planning and implementation of quality improvement initiatives. 

Regulatory compliance 

Complying with reporting requirements and financial regulations combined with experience of local authority accounting which is essential. As a member of this technical team, you will have an analytical mind, be a well-developed communicator, be self-motivated and be committed to providing financial data to an excellent standard.  

Qualifications, Skills, and Experience (desirable unless stated otherwise) 

• Part or fully qualified CCAB or equivalent; if studying the Councils would continue to support this to completion.
• Good interpersonal skills to liaise with Senior Managers, Directors and Auditors. 

• Experience of working within  a finance team in Local Government
• Experience of closure of accounts or, capital or treasury
• The ability to compile and present financial data in way that ensures effective feedback to the stakeholder (i.e. Senior Managers, Auditors). 
• Proficient IT skills to use spreadsheets, financial systems and other relevant packages for analysis and presentation (essential).
• You thrive in a challenging yet highly rewarding environment

If any of these qualifications, skills or experience apply to you we invite you to apply for this opportunity today. 

Additional information:  Our offices are in the Grade II listed building of Wandsworth Town Hall which is centrally located in the heart of vibrant Wandsworth Town.  Just a 10 minute bus journey from Clapham Junction, or under a 10 minute walk to Wandsworth Town Station where direct trains are 15 minutes to London Waterloo. The Accountancy Service is currently working between home locations and the office.

Indicative Recruitment Timeline

Closing date: Sunday 21^st July 2024

Shortlisting Date: Wednesday 24^th July 2024 

Test/Interview date: Wednesday 31^st July 2024 (Wandsworth Town Hall)  

Useful Information:

Richmond and Wandsworth Councils are committed to making our recruitment practices as inclusive as possible for everyone. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a culture that values differences, recognising that employees from a variety of backgrounds bring important and positive contributions to the Councils and can improve the way we deliver services. 

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer, if you require any reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment and selection process, please let us know. 

 We are also committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. 

We offer a wide range of benefits designed to attract, develop, and reward our employees such as 40 days annual leave (including Bank Holidays), flexible working and a generous pension plan. For more details click here