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
1. 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
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2. 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
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3. Develop and monitor financial controls for all financial areas, ensuring the accuracy, integrity, consistency & quality of the DBS general ledger
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4. Lead the development of DBS� finance and accounting policies, ensuring compliance with latest standards, regulatory and stakeholder requirements
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5. Support the Head of Operational Finance in the provision of technical guidance to all internal stakeholders and in the preparation of accounting papers
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6. 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
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7. Lead and manage the timely preparation of all regulatory and stakeholder (including Home Office consolidation) reporting
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8. 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
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9. Oversee the preparation of the monthly cash flow forecasting to ensure that the 3-month (working capital) cash requirement is not breached
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10. Oversee and manage all Financial Accounts activities including any centralised requisitioning, journals and reconciliations, as well as the effective stewardship and compliance reviews.
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11. Act as a key point of contact with external auditors and effectively manage the external audit process.
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12. Ensure appropriate departmental KPIs are prepared and reported on a timely basis
13. To work closely with the Head of Management Accounts to ensure the timely completion of accurate management information and reporting
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14. 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.
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15. Deputise for the Head of Operational Finance when required.
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16. Undertake additional duties appropriate to the role and/or grade
Person specification
Ability essential criteria -�
17. Proven ability to communicate complex matters to a non-financial audience and to build effective relationships with senior stakeholders
18. Strategic thinking, planning and analysis skills, with the ability to develop creative solutions to support the management of change and mitigate associated risks
19. Excellent relationship management, influencing, facilitation and presentation skills
20. Presence and credibility to work with senior colleagues across the organisation
21. Highly organised and able to plan and manage a broad portfolio of activities
22. Resilience in challenging circumstances: ability to work under pressure, remaining calm but decisive.
23. Highly effective communicator in person, in writing and in electronic media.�
Experience essential criteria -�
24. Highly developed people leadership, management and communication skills
25. Successful relationship-building with own staff team members and wider Finance department
26. Leading the annual report and accounts production process
27. Managing the external audit process through to the delivery of annual audited financial statements
28. Excellent knowledge of latest accounting standards (IFRS experience and FReM knowledge preferred)
29. Communicating complex accounting and tax issues to non-finance stakeholders
30. Developing financial policies, frameworks and procedures
31. Best practice financial controls
32. Experience within a senior Financial Accountant role and ability to draw upon practicable experience of managing multiple deliverables to tight timescales whilst implementing financial controls
33. Experience of driving improvements in processes to increase efficiency
34. Experience coaching and developing finance colleagues
Technical essential criteria -�
35. Must hold an accounting qualification from a recognised CCAB accountancy body or CIMA
Qualifications
Must hold an accounting qualification from a recognised CCAB accountancy body or CIMA
Memberships
Must hold an active membership with a recognised CCAB accountancy body or CIMA
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
36. Leadership
37. Developing Self and Others
38. Managing a Quality Service
39. Working Together
40. Communicating and Influencing
41. Making Effective Decisions
Benefits
Alongside your salary of �53,400, Disclosure & Barring Service contributes �14,418 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.
The DBS offers a number of excellent benefits for its employees. These can include:
42. Generous annual leave entitlement
43. Excellent maternity, paternity and adoption schemes (after a qualifying period)
44. Commitment to the health and wellbeing of our employees
45. Employee Assistance Programme
46. Flexible working opportunities
47. Eyecare voucher scheme
48. Occupational Health Service including referrals for counselling and physiotherapy
49. 24/7 Counselling and Wellbeing Service
50. A with an average employer contribution of 27%
The DBS vision and purpose is to make people safer by being a visible, trusted and influential organisation, providing an outstanding quality of service to all our customers and partners, where our people understand the important safeguarding contributions they make and feel proud to work here. To do this, the DBS is committed to being an employer that is able to attract, develop, retain and engage diverse talent that is representative of the communities we serve, and to be an organisation providing outstanding service to all our existing and new customers, who are diverse and have a range of different needs. We want all our staff to be able to bring their �whole self� to work.