Assistant Financial Accountant

Overview

Buckinghamshire Council is the backbone of making our county the best place to live, raise a family, work, and do business. As the second largest council by population, we deliver thousands of services to our community. Join our fast-paced Financial Accounting and Control team, managing net assets of over £2bn and gross income of over £1bn annually. Our numbers are big, and our ambitions are even bigger.

About us

Our Financial Accounting and Control team ensures robust financial controls and compliance with regulatory, accounting, and auditing standards. We are proud of the services we deliver and the people who deliver them.

Why Join Us:

• Culture: Experience a fair and inclusive culture that promotes a positive work-life balance.
• Benefits: Enjoy generous leave entitlement, competitive pay aligned with our performance pay scheme, and a substantial employer pension contribution through the Local Government Pension Scheme.
• Development: Opportunities for career growth and development, along with various discount schemes and more.

About the role

As an Assistant Financial Accountant, you will support the delivery of excellent financial reporting, treasury management, and taxation services. Reporting to the Senior Financial Accountant this position will play a key role in establishing collaborative working relationship with wider finance teams and service areas to execute day to day reconciliation and monitoring activities to ensure compliance of controls, regulations and integrity of data are maintained to the highest quality.

Key Responsibilities:

• Data: Responsible for the maintenance, quality and integrity of the data within the Council’s Asset Register, Option to Tax Register, Leasing database, Treasury Management system.
• Statutory Reporting: Undertake tasks relating to the closing of accounts, production of financial statements in compliance with the latest guidance and audit requirements.

• Treasury Management: Assist in treasury management activities, ensuring maintenance of the treasury management system and weekly cash-flow forecast to manage liquidity effectively.
• Taxation: Support taxation activities, prepare and submit monthly VAT returns.

• Financial Control: Support the improvement and development of financial processes in the light of issues raised through external and internal audit reviews.

• Communication: Provide clear and persuasive communication, both verbally and in writing.

About you

• Qualifications: AAT qualified or relevant degree.
• Experience: Relevant practical experience of working in a finance environment within a medium to large organisation demonstrating evidence of appropriate level of knowledge.
• Skills: Well-developed interpersonal and communication skills to build relationships and collaborate successfully with the internal and external stakeholders.
• Attributes: A desire to excel in technical areas of accounting and a collaborative approach to driving service change.

Other information

Application Process: For further information on this role, please see the attached job summary. If you would like to have an informal conversation about this role, please contact Nicola Gyselinck (Chief Accountant) via [email protected].

Working Arrangements: Any desk worker, working 2 days in the office (Aylesbury) and 3 days from home. 

Closing Date: 9^th September 2025 

Interview Date: Week Commencing 22^nd September 2025, in person.

This post is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

• All unspent cautions and/or unspent convictions

For further information on how long it takes for cautions and convictions cautions to become spent, please refer to our guide on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (updated 2023) | Nacro

We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.

Our values and culture

We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.

By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:

• a fair and inclusive culture
• the chance to really make a difference to those around you
• health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
• a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
• ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
• opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events

At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.

From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.

We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.

About the Business Unit

Resources cover a wide range of specialisms, including Human Resources, Finance, ICT and Business Operations. Our main focus is supporting the other directorates to provide the best possible service to our residents. To do that, we have to make sure we have the right people in the right roles across the organisation. From our finance teams, working strategically to ensure the best value from public money; to HR keeping our employees healthy and happy, each service is vital in making sure Buckinghamshire Council has what it needs to run effectively and efficiently.

As well as providing high quality services to other areas of the Council, you could also be helping us build on the revenue which comes from our external clients. If you are ambitious, customer-focussed and bursting with new ideas, we want to hear from you.

We recognise and reward you

Hard work and success deserves recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements. We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops and auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme. In addition to the opportunity to gain membership to Costco, we have discounted gym memberships, travel discounts with Arriva and much more.

https://jobs.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/working-buckinghamshire-council/