Jobs

JOB PURPOSE

This role will be responsible for the day-to-day leadership of the Financial Control team which manages income, expenditure streams, assets, liabilities and associated tax within the Trust. This includes the following key areas:

• Revenue recognition and reconciliation,
• Accounting for Stock,
• Intercompany accounting,
• Balance Sheet Management,
• Accruals, Prepayments, Accrued and Deferred Income
• Taxation Accounting & Advisory Services
• Trust payroll and expense claim facilitation
• Financial Control related procedures, systems and team activities

The delivery of these will have to be planned and managed around a variety of deadlines which can be anything from daily/weekly to annual. Areas of priority will be: to lead the delivery activities required for the preparation of the month-end results and completion of the Trust’s annual report and accounts, and the external audit for the Trust; to lead on VAT and Gift Aid claim review and compliance to ensure all areas of the Trusts income streams meet HMRC regulations whilst maintaining efficient associated VAT recovery. The role also involves ensuring that the Trust’s systems of financial and internal control relating to these areas, are operating effectively, and leading the development and implementation of best in practice processes / controls in these areas.

Reporting to the Financial Controller, the postholder is required to support them in delivering programmes of work that meet the Finance Team’s objectives ensuring complete accurate and compliant reporting to internal and external stakeholders to tight deadlines.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Lead and manage members of the Financial Control team, ensuring that they are supported, developed and performance managed in accordance with the HR policies of the Trust to ensure that the functions of the team are delivered efficiently and effectively and members of the team are able to continually improve and develop.
• Supporting development of appropriate policies and develop and maintain processes and procedures with regard to income recognition and associated balance sheet management to ensure compliance with FRS102 and OSCR SORP.
• Supporting development of appropriate policies and develop and maintain, processes and procedures to ensure the Trust’s financial operations are compliant with all relevant VAT & Tax legislation and regulations. Will require liaison with and management of external advisers to support compliance and submission activities. Focus will be on making these compliant, effective and efficient.
• Working with, influencing and business partnering members and leaders in other teams to ensure that the necessary processes and controls are developed and implemented.
• Enhancing working relationships with other departments and explaining financial terms to non-accountants to ensure the sharing of knowledge.
In relation to the key areas of responsibility for specific role:
Revenue Recognition & Accounting

a) Review & management of monthly processes to ensure accurate reporting of income.
b) Ensure timely and accurate collection of direct debits for memberships, donations and rents. This will involve close business partnering with other areas of the Trust and also engagement with the IT Team.
c) Reconciling data to third party documentation
d) Reconciling the financial system to the sales system across multiple payment methods.
e) Reconciliation of non-financial sales ledger information to external sales ledger
f) Calculation of accrued/deferred income at month end/year end. Ensuring long term contractual income correctly accounted for.
g) Adherence to regulated income guidelines
h) Other areas relating to effective Financial Control management

Projects and Process Improvement

a) Developing processes to improve the accuracy of data to support internal and external reporting.
b) Involvement in planned system improvements to ensure financial reporting effective and accurate.
c) Involvement in new income streams, providing a financial insight on new initiatives to other departments at first stage of a new stream.
d) Maximise opportunities to increase automation and efficiency and limit the need for manual processing and reconciliations.
e) Review of all income streams current practice with a view to improvement and streamlining. This will involve gaining a knowledge of CRM and interacting with various departments out-with Finance.
f) Other areas relating to effective Financial Control management

Month end & Reporting
a) Month end postings & authorisations.
b) Undertaking reviews of provisions, accruals and advance income to ensure that these remain valid and establishing and continually improving the processes around these to ensure that these are efficient from an end-to-end process perspective.
c) Intercompany accounting.
d) Balance sheet management, reconciliation and review, ensuring all balances (GL & Sub-Ledger) are accurate, substantiated and complete
e) Liaison with Financial Planning & Analysis to provide key input to the monthly management accounts and Board Reporting ensuring income, employment costs, expenses and supplier postings are all complete and on time.
f) Other areas relating to effective Financial Control management

Statutory accounts & Audit
a) Support the preparation of the statutory accounts under FRS102 and OSCR SORP.
b) Support the annual audit cycle.
c) Support development of and give advice on accounting policies and procedures, to ensure the Trust complies with accounting standards and practice.

Taxation and External Reporting

a) Being responsible for all aspects of VAT including: timely and accurate VAT submissions; ensuring correct VAT application to all income streams and associated recovery; VAT optimisation; Partial Exemption Calculations; VAT compliance including Making Tax Digital; HMRC audits, provision of advice & training to the wider Trust including set up of new projects.
b) All aspects of Corporation Tax
c) Lead on ensuring timely and accurate Office of National Statistics returns.
d) Key point of contact for HRMC and ONS.
e) Manage and contribute to other appropriate tax and compliance requirements
f) Other areas relating to effective Financial Control management

The current duties of this job do require a criminal records (Disclosure Scotland) check to be carried out.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, EXPERIENCE & KNOWLEDGE

Qualifications
• Fully qualified with a relevant professional accounting qualification (i.e. ACCA, CA or CIMA);
Experience
Essential:
• Inspiring manager used to developing and motivating staff
• Ability to manage and manipulate large amounts of data to import into ledger and associated reconciliations
• Broad experience of Balance sheet reconciliations, journals and preparing accounts
• Proven experience of implementing financial best practice
• Experience of working on integrated, complex financial systems with a focus on internal control framework and compliance activity
• Experience of supporting the development and implementation of policy, procedure and process change
• Experience of VAT application
Desirable:
• MS Dynamics 365 Experience, Business Central and a high level of general IT competence
• Knowledge of FRS102
• Charities VAT and Partial Exemption
• Gift Aid
• Charities/Third Sector Experience
• High level of Excel skills
Skills & Knowledge
Essential
• Strong people management skills, including leading through change
• Strong communication skills and confidence in dealing with a wide range of specialist and non-specialist staff at all levels
• Well-developed analytical and numerical skills with a high level of attention to detail and accuracy
• Ability to reconcile and manipulate of large volumes of data maintaining accuracy and attention to detail
• Ability to work under pressure, juggling conflicting priorities, managing change and delivering to tight deadlines without compromising accuracy or work or provision of customer service
• Working knowledge of and application of Accounting Principles and standards, taxation (especially VAT) and other areas relevant to the role
• Must be self-motivated with a proactive approach to work, ability to take initiative & identify opportunities, to accept challenges and responsibility, initiate and implement change, ability to seek knowledge and apply solutions
• Excellent Computer Literacy skills; an advanced user of spreadsheets; and ability to assimilate and adapt quickly to new packages and other information, technologies and systems.

DIMENSIONS AND SCOPE OF JOB
People Management
• Direct line management of up to 6 members of the Financial Control team
• Responsible for the continuing professional development of the resources within their responsibility.
• It is imperative that the post-holder is confident in dealing with colleagues at all levels within the organisation.

Financial Scope
• Not a budget holder;
• The post holder will need to make sound, justifiable decisions with regard to financial issues and organisation wide process change. These will generally be required only after consultation with senior staff.

The Key Responsibilities, Scope of Job, and Required Qualifications, Skills, Experience & Knowledge reflect the requirements of the job at the time of issue. The Trust reserves the right to amend these with appropriate consultation and/or request the post-holder to undertake any activities that it believes to be reasonable within the broad scope of the job or his/her general abilities.

Application Deadline: Sunday 18/05/2025