Senior Financial Accountant in Cowbridge

Location: Cardiff; Edinburgh; Belfast

Salary: 48,147 - 52,538 per year

Employment: Full time

Category: Senior Accountant

Posted: Valid to: Employer: Companies House

Job summary

Are you a qualified accountant with a passion for financial accounting and reporting? Do you have experience of producing financial accounts with the confidence to make technical accounting judgements? If so, we have two fantastic opportunities to join our Financial Accounting team at Companies House as a Senior Financial Accountant. The roles will support the Chief Technical Accountant with the production and timely laying of the Companies House Annual Report and Accounts, alongside delivering high-quality monthly and year-end financial accounting.

The role will cover key technical accounting areas, applying IFRS/IAS, FReM and Managing Public Money requirements. You will also support the external audit, maintain strong financial controls and work with stakeholders across Companies House to ensure accurate and timely financial reporting.

The role provides an opportunity to work closely with colleagues across Finance, including Finance Business Partners, Management Accounts, FP&A, Debt Management, as well as executive, operational, compliance and strategic teams across Companies House, to broaden your knowledge and experiences while ensuring our core financial accounting and Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) are robust and appropriately challenged.

If you're a qualified accountant with strong technical expertise and a passion for delivering high-quality financial reporting, we'd love to hear from you.

Why choose Companies House?

At Companies House we take a proactive approach to wellbeing by promoting a welcoming culture, healthy work life balance and supporting colleagues to be their best in work because we know people are the key to our success. Our benefits include:

• Flexible working with no core hours (between 6am and 8pm)
• 30 days annual leave
• 8 bank holidays & 1 privilege day
• Enrolment into the Civil Service Pension scheme, with an average employer contribution of 28%

Job description

Financial Accounting ensures that Companies House’s financial results are accurately reported in line with relevant accounting standards and government reporting requirements. As a Senior Financial Accountant, you will manage key month-end and year-end activities, including journals, balance sheet reconciliations, financial controls and technical accounting matters. The role also contributes to the preparation of monthly Board reports.

A key part of the role will be supporting the Chief Technical Accountant with the production and timely laying of the Annual Report and Accounts, including the Agency Accounts and Trust Statement. You will help prepare financial statements and disclosures, working papers and audit evidence, while applying IFRS/IAS, FReM and Managing Public Money requirements.

In addition, the role plays a key part in ensuring the completeness and accuracy of financial data in line with NAO accounting requirements, supported by strong financial controls and robust evidence.

Specific responsibilities and day to day tasks include:

• Managing the monthly Financial Accounting timetable across relevant Companies House company codes, including journals, balance sheet reconciliations, reviews and delivery of monthly actuals in line with BIST and WGA reporting deadlines.
• Overseeing key financial accounting processes, including intangible assets and VAT, ensuring appropriate accounting treatment, robust reconciliations and supporting evidence.
• Preparing IFRS-compliant accounting models, reports and working papers for Late Filing Penalties and Powers and Sanctions penalty income, including supporting calculations, accounting judgements and financial reporting requirements.
• Supporting the Chief Technical Accountant with the production and timely laying of the Companies House Annual Report and Accounts (ARA), including preparing year-end accounting information, working papers, supporting schedules and audit evidence.
• Supporting the Chief Technical Accountant with drafting relevant financial statements and notes to the accounts, including supporting calculations and disclosures, and obtaining and assuring information from stakeholders.
• Interpreting and applying FReM, relevant IFRS requirements and Managing Public Money (MPM) to areas of responsibility, supporting technical accounting assessments and escalating complex or significant judgements to the Chief Technical Accountant.
• Managing the NAO external audit, including responding to audit queries and providing high-quality supporting evidence.
• Maintaining robust financial controls and audit trails, identifying risks and opportunities to improve financial accounting processes.
• Working collaboratively across Finance and the wider organisation to obtain, challenge and assure financial information required for monthly, statutory and wider government reporting, including Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) where required.

About the team

The Financial Accounting team sits within Finance & Commercial and is responsible for delivering high-quality financial accounting, statutory reporting and financial control across Companies House. We are a collaborative team working closely with colleagues across Finance and the wider organisation. Our work covers month-end and year-end reporting, production of the Annual Report and Accounts, external audit, technical accounting, fixed and intangible assets, leases, expected credit losses, revenue recognition and wider government reporting.

It is an exciting time to join the team, with an evolving financial and regulatory landscape, increasing technical accounting requirements and significant finance system transformation ahead. The team is also focused on building capability and sharing knowledge, providing opportunities to develop technical accounting expertise and gain experience across a broad range of financial reporting activities. We value teamwork, continuous improvement and professional development, and encourage colleagues to share knowledge, challenge existing processes and work together to deliver high-quality outcomes.

Please note: You will be based at either our Cardiff, Edinburgh or Belfast office where you will be expected to attend on a regular basis.

Companies House cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign. Due to the nature of the role and team structure, this is a full time position and the successful candidate will be required to work a full time working week, however, we can consider applications from those looking to work compressed hours.

Applicants who are progressed from sift to interview will be required to provide evidence of the required qualifications in advance of the interview taking place.

Person specification

We’re looking for a Senior Financial Accountant with:

• Extensive accounting experience.
• Strong technical knowledge of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
• Experience of producing financial accounts and making technical accounting judgements, and then explaining those judgements to others.
• Extensive experience working in a finance role within a finance function, gained in either the private sector, public sector, or within Audit and Assurance services.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to network and build relationships at all levels.
• Customer service empathy and focus and people management skills.
• Strong Excel and presentation skills.
• At least two years of post‑qualification experience, demonstrating the ability to apply professional accounting knowledge in a complex financial environment.

Qualifications

Fully qualified chartered accountant (CCAB, CIMA, or equivalent) qualification. If invited to interview, you’ll be required to provide evidence of the qualifications required in advance of your interview. Please note we are not able to accept part qualifications or applications from those with the intention to study.

Behaviours

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Managing a Quality Service

Technical skills

We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Application of accounting standards and financial reporting requirements to the preparation of statutory financial accounts, including financial statements and disclosures.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of 48,147, Companies House contributes 13,948 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. We believe that our success is driven by the well-being and satisfaction of our team members at all levels of the organisation. At Companies House we’re committed to providing a comprehensive benefits package that goes beyond the ordinary, ensuring your career journey with us is not only fulfilling, but also rewarding. We pride ourselves on offering a quality work-life balance with our employee wellbeing being central to our working practices.

We celebrate diversity... As an equal opportunity employer, we celebrate diversity, being committed to ensuring we’re representative of the citizens we serve and creating an inclusive environment. Everyone in Companies House brings something different, and so will you. To fulfil our commitment to recruiting and attracting diverse talent we welcome applications from underrepresented groups. We also welcome applications from Welsh speakers.

We are proud to be a disability confident leader. Our recruitment process is fully inclusive and we can make adjustments as needed through our process. These could include having an interview buddy, extra time at interviews/assessments and receiving interview questions in advance, to name a few.

If you require any reasonable adjustments at application stage, or if you’d like to discuss any person-centred adjustments, please contact us by emailing.

Read our 'Applying under the Disability Confidence Scheme (DCS)' guide to find out how to successfully complete an application under the Disability Confidence Scheme (DCS).

Where will you be working?

You will be based at either our Cardiff, Edinburgh or Belfast office where you will be expected to attend on a regular basis. We are currently using a hybrid approach to the way we work which provides opportunities for you to be adaptable in the way you work so that you can achieve a healthy balance between your work and home life. The degree of choice you have will depend on your role and your day-to-day work activities. Your manager will agree regular patterns of attendance with you, however you may be required to make yourself available to attend the office more frequently when required to meet business needs.

Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.

Key dates (dates are indicative only and could be subject to change)

• Closing date - 22nd November 2026, at 23:55
• Sifting - w/c 23rd November 2026
• Interviews - w/c 30th November 2026, on Microsoft Teams

Communications will be electronic via email therefore it is important that you check your Civil Service Jobs account regularly, as well as your spam/junk email folder.

What will the process look like?

1. Application
2. Sift
3. Interview
4. Offer

Successful candidates must pass a Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) check before they can be appointed. BPSS is an entry level security check. It uses the Police National Computer (PNC) to make sure a candidate has no convictions. The check returns evidence of any current criminal record and un-spent convictions under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

Companies House cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign. Companies House holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not qualify. Should you apply for this role and require sponsorship, your application may be rejected, and any provisional offers of employment withdrawn.

Pre-Employment Checking

In line with Government guidance, successfully appointed candidates will need to provide documents for our Right to Work checks.

From June 2026, applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). Your personal details (name, National Insurance number, and date of birth) will be checked against the Civil Service Resourcing Extract IFD. This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. If your details appear on this database, you will not be offered employment unless you can demonstrate exceptional circumstances.

Companies House, acting on behalf of the vacancy holder, will inform you if your application is refused for this reason.

Please note: You are not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

Nationality statement

As part of our recruitment process, it is essential for all candidates to independently verify their eligibility to work in the UK before applying. This includes a thorough check of your right to work to ensure compliance with UK employment laws, being mindful of the recent changes to going rates detailed on GOV.UK. Please ensure you have the necessary documentation and permissions in place.

Our team is dedicated to fostering a diverse and inclusive workforce and encourages applicants from all backgrounds to apply. However, it is the candidate's responsibility to ensure they meet the UK's legal requirements to work.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard checks.

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)
• 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.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles.

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found.

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative. The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction.