Accountant

Overview

Are you an experienced finance professional looking to make a real impact in a dynamic and supportive environment? We are seeking a proactive and detail-oriented Accountant to join our team. This is an exciting opportunity to deliver high-quality finance services, drive continuous improvement, and support the financial health of our organisation.

About us

We are committed to delivering exceptional services to our community and upholding the highest standards of financial management. Our values—Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative, and Trustworthy—guide everything we do. We believe in empowering our people, fostering innovation, and working together to achieve outstanding results for Buckinghamshire residents. As part of our team, you’ll be encouraged to learn, grow, and contribute to a culture of excellence and continuous improvement.

About the role

As an Accountant, you will provide specialist support focused on budget management, financial control, and assurance. You’ll play a key role in improving financial performance, strengthening our Financial Control Framework, and ensuring compliance with financial instructions. Working closely with service areas you will deliver expert advice, clear guidance, and high-quality support to stakeholders across the council. .. You'll also work closely with other Finance staff to provide technical and professional advice to other officers within the Council.

Key responsibilities include:

• Delivering professional management accounting and control services within a specialist area, ensuring compliance with best practices and legal duties.
• All aspects of budget management and financial control, including risk-based support, financial reporting, reconciliations, and statutory returns.
• Providing technical and professional advice to senior managers and budget holders to support value-for-money decision-making.
• Leading or contributing to service-based projects and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Supporting the development of team members and budget holders through training, mentoring, and knowledge sharing.
• Maintaining and developing finance processes, with a focus on simplification, standardisation, and data quality.

Any-Desk:

As an ‘any-desk’ worker, you’ll need to be connected to our network to access digital folders and resources, but this can either be from home or an office location when required. You will be required to work from the office a couple of times a week, depending on your role and team requirements.

About you

You will have up-to-date knowledge of accounting best practice and processes, you'll have the ability to analyse and interpret complex financial data and present to non-financial managers.

An effective communicator with well-developed interpersonal, persuasion and negotiation skills to build relationships and influence the stakeholder community. 

You will be either Qualified AAT with relevant post-qualification experience or CCAB qualified or part qualified.

Other information

For further information on this role please see the attached job summary.

Closing date: Sunday 11th January

Interview date: Monday 19^th January / Tuesday 20^th January

Interview-type / process: In person

If you would like to have an informal conversation with the recruiting manager, please contact: Caroline Souto, Finance Reporting Manager, [email protected]

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.

We understand that candidates may use AI tools to assist with their applications. While we welcome innovation, we expect all submissions to reflect your own experience, skills, and achievements accurately. Please ensure your application is truthful and demonstrates your personal capabilities, as this will be assessed during the selection process.

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/