Finance Officer

at  Valuation Tribunal Service

JOB SUMMARY

This job offers great exposure to a range of finance related work within a small but busy finance team in the VTS Head Office. You will report to our Finance Manager and on a day-to-day basis you will work closely with other Finance colleagues and be responsible for providing managerial support and guidance to less experienced staff in the team.

Your specific responsibilities will include:

• assisting the Finance Manager with preparation of annual and quarterly accounts;
• assisting with the preparation and analysis of management accounting information including budget management reporting;
• the production of monthly and year end audit files;
• payroll reconciliation and administration.

Our ideal candidate will have previous experience of a range of finance responsibilities, preferably gained within the public sector. Knowledge of the work involved in central government financing and specifically within an NDPB would be a positive advantage. We believe that this position will suit candidates who are fully qualified with a recognised accountancy body and who also have knowledge of SAP accounting. You are likely to have excellent Excel skills - at an intermediate or advanced level - as working with spreadsheets is a prime requirement of the role.

QUALIFICATIONS

Fully qualified with CCAB or CIMA (or passed finalist) with appropriate relevant experience and looking to progress to the next stage of their finance career (E)

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Demonstrable experience of producing accurate, timely and value-added financial information (including forecasts, budget setting and reporting) and providing expertise and advice in a fast-paced finance team, preferably in a Finance Business Partner role (E)
Experience of financial accounting processes, including producing financial statements (E).
Experience in operating financial systems to a high level of capability (E), preferably SAP and to support the development of systems and processes (D)
Ability to analyse and model a range of financial and non-financial data using advanced Excel (E)
Experience of driving improvements in both financial planning and financial forecasting, within a complex environment (E).
Knowledge and awareness of the requirements on Non-Departmental Public Bodies or equivalent organisations and understanding of public sector accounting requirements (D)
Line Management experience (D)
Experience in the preparation and provision of technical papers and business cases (D)

NATIONALITY REQUIREMENTS

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

TYPE OF ROLE

Accountancy
Administration / Corporate Support
Finance

MAIN PURPOSE

To prepare and deliver financial processes, reports, advice, support, and management - to a high quality and to time - to the VTS, its key stakeholders within senior and middle management, to the Board and to the VTS’s sponsoring department.
To provide a business partnering approach in support of the wider VTS, helping to resolve issues, respond to questions, enhance financial awareness, and improve finance processes.
To ensure the day-to-day recognition and processing of all financial transactions on the finance system (SAP) ensuring that these transactions are processed in a timely manner and are compliant with all policies, processes and the Financial Report Manual (FreM) and Consolidated Budgeting Guidance (CBG) and other guidance as published by HM Treasury.
To manage allocated Finance Assistant(s)/Administrator/more junior staff.
To provide support and guidance to the rest of the finance team and in particular support the Finance Manager.

MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING RESPONSIBILITIES

Provide a business partnering service by working with budget holders and managers in the VTS. Provide monthly updated actuals extracted directly from SAP and provide support in the reviewing of expenditure against forecast on a monthly basis. Advise on the most appropriate application, use of chart of accounts data, and help in interpreting the data and supporting reforecasting activities.
Work with and successfully influence budget holders to deliver high quality and accurate expenditure re-forecasts within a very tight timetable to ensure upload onto SAP and onward submission to the sponsoring department. Identify issues and work with budget holders to resolve any challenges encountered, offering advice, support and providing solutions.
Extract data in a useable format and is used for onward reporting to Executive Management Team (EMT) and the Board. Identify and highlight any risk to budgets at the earliest opportunity, in particular where forecasts are in excess of available budget. Provide suitable and timely advice and appropriate actions to avoid breach of budget and Accounts qualification.
Review and update all associated hierarchies and structures on SAP, ensuring that these reflect the structure of the organisation and provide the optimum basis upon which the organisation can report.
Review, develop (with a view to improvement) and update reports produced for the Board and other interested parties to ensure that they are drawn directly from SAP in a simplified manner whilst retaining clear audit trails and ensuring that information and reports are clearly understandable by members of the respective audiences.
Working within and to the agreed process, prepare the monthly Grant-in-Aid (cash) forecast using the underlying SAP data, adjusting for known non-cash items and analysis, assess and make appropriate adjustments for other non-cash or cash requirements. Ensure that the forecast is fully supported by underlying data and provides a full audit trail. Analise and review the cash held and challenge anomalies where they exist taking steps to work with our shared service provider to resolve any banking issues or concerns.
Work with - and take direction from - the Finance Manager and Finance Director to prepare the annual budget, commissioning information form budget holders, collecting and collating returns and grouping in accordance with the required budget category.

MANAGEMENT, SUPERVISION AND WIDER VTS RESPONSIBILITIES

Manage any finance team members allocated to the job holder including effective performance management, administration of annual leave and managing sickness issues. Manage the fair and transparent application of VTS HR policies and ensure the quality and timeliness of the services provided by team members and the staff supervised by the job holder.
Support and help to develop a high level of professionalism within the finance team and assist in the development on a one-team, supportive culture and working environment.
Support finance and senior management in any other finance related work as required.
Assist with financial and accounts training for non-Finance staff within the VTS.
Comply with all financial policies and procedures and ensure convergence with legislative requirements and financial regulations.
Prepare reports and papers as requested including providing assistance in the preparation of business cases.

Your specific responsibilities will include:

• assisting the Finance Manager with preparation of annual and quarterly accounts;
• assisting with the preparation and analysis of management accounting information including budget management reporting;
• the production of monthly and year end audit files;
• payroll reconciliation and administration