Accountant and Business Partner

Temporary Accountant and Business Partner

Job Ref: Cheshire E

Please do not apply for this role unless your CV meets the following general requirements, listed below:

1. You must be UK based and have the right to work in the UK.
2. For office based and hybrid roles, your commute to the place of work must be less than 1 hour.
3. This is a temporary role, initially 1-2 months. Please do not apply if you are seeking a permanent position.

Key Requirements:

1. Professional accounting qualification, CIPFA qualification or CCAB equivalent etc.
2. Degree, or equivalent, level qualification in a relevant field.
3. Experience of local government finance or equivalent.
4. Proven track record of conscientious application and technical reliability.
5. Proven successful track record in financial and staff management.
6. Extensive working knowledge and detailed understanding of Council financial practices and procedures, or equivalent.
7. Ability to analyse and present financial data, statistics and trends in a meaningful way.
8. Strong IT skills including Microsoft packages or equivalent (e.g. G Suite).

The purpose of the role is to provide Finance Business Partner support to the Council's external companies. Candidates will be responsible for delivering waste collection, waste disposal and bereavement services. Activities include in-year reporting, budget setting and year-end work plus company specific items such as VAT, company accounts etc.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Organise and manage the work of a team of staff to ensure that it operates effectively and meets its objectives, as specified in the Service Business Plan.
2. Prepare expenditure estimates, capital programmes and revenue budgets in order to ensure that these comply with the Council's Financial Standing Orders and Regulations, the Council's Medium-Term Strategy and professional guidelines.
3. Advise on, guide and co-ordinate the monitoring and reporting by individual Service or corporate managers of performance against capital and revenue budgets and other performance targets to ensure that appropriate and timely management and remedial action is taken.
4. Maintain financial systems and procedures in the defined area of the post, in accordance with the requirements of Financial Standing Orders and Regulations, to ensure that proper and efficient arrangements are made for the administration of the Council's financial affairs to the satisfaction of the external auditors.
5. Identify, investigate and advise on areas of potential financial or Service risk to ensure that appropriate actions can be reflected in the business plan, at a corporate or Service department level and to monitor the effectiveness of implementation.
6. Provide input into special investigations, Service reviews and resource projects to ensure that inefficiencies and budget variances are investigated and reported and opportunities for performance improvement identified.
7. Analyse, evaluate and advise on financial information for Service, corporate managers and Members, in order to ensure that management decisions are taken in the context of up-to-date accurate and appropriate data and full realisation of benefits.
8. Devise, implement and maintain operational procedures and schedules to ensure the effective and efficient delivery of financial services to the agreed specifications and quality standards across the total client base.
9. Review and report on the development of new and existing financial systems to advise Service managers on best value and management controls in the furtherance of service objectives.
10. Advise Service managers on the financial implications of decisions including where appropriate drafting of reports to Service and corporate committees / panels, to ensure that action is taken with a proper appreciation of corporate financial standards and best value considerations.