Senior Corporate Accountant – Hybrid Local Government Finance

Staffordshire County Council is a large authority with an excellent track record for delivering savings and is proud of its reputation for good financial management, planning and reporting. We are looking for someone to join our team at a senior level, to help us maintain and improve our financial reporting in these challenging economic times. Working closely with the Corporate Finance Manager and other senior colleagues, you will help to lead the Corporate Finance team to ensure financial strategies are implemented and that our financial reporting requirements are produced to deadlines and maintained at a high quality. You will have an office base in Stafford, and we currently operate hybrid working, so there is flexibility for you to work from home, subject to service requirements.

Main Responsibilities

• Understand and interpret accounting standards and ensure compliance across the organisation.
• Liaise with external audit to ensure samples are coordinated in a timely manner with good audit trails.
• Coordinate the production of the Statement of Accounts in accordance with the statutory deadline.
• Ensure systems and processes are in place to record key financial information and gather evidence as appropriate.
• Manage the Capital team and ensure that our capital programme is accounted for in line with CIPFA’s Code of Practice.
• Ensure the County Council’s fixed asset register is maintained accurately.

The Ideal Candidate

• Is CCAB qualified with experience of managing different, complex areas of financial services.
• Thorough knowledge of local authority statutory returns and other reporting requirements.
• Has a thorough understanding of Accounting Standards.
• Has knowledge and understanding of the statutes, code of practice and other rules in respect of Local Government Finance and the ability to interpret and apply them.

For an informal chat about the role, please contact William Wilkes, Corporate Finance Manager, on 01785 278157 or William.wilkes@staffordshire.gov.uk. Interviews to be held on w/c 20th April.

Our Recruitment Process

We anonymise applications during shortlisting to ensure only relevant information is considered. Please complete your application fully, especially the supporting statement, to highlight what you’ll bring to the role.

About Staffordshire County Council

We are no ordinary county council. The core of who we are as an organisation. Just like we all have personal values that shape our thoughts and behaviour, organisational values drive how we think and act collectively. Our values were created and shaped by colleague feedback and national best practice and they sit at the heart of People Strategy. We have a real sense of community spirit that brings our people together. This feeling of belonging means we are all connected to what we do and take pride in the difference we make every day for Staffordshire people. We are ambitious and our sights are set firmly on a better future. We look forward and race ahead - that goes for your career too.

Our Benefits

We recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive working environment where employees can achieve their full potential and achieve a healthy work‑life balance. In addition to your salary, as a member of staff, you will have access to our rewards and benefits.

Equal Opportunities

As an Authority we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Staffordshire County Council is an equal opportunities organisation and Disability Confident employer. We encourage applications from all backgrounds and communities. As part of our commitment as a Disability Confident employer, a Gold Award Armed Forces employer and our commitment to supporting care leavers, we offer a guaranteed interview as long as your application meets the minimum criteria for the post.