Senior Finance Accountant

London: £54,769 to £61,627 | National: £49,839 to £55,531 | + £5,000 accountancy allowance

DCMS is the dedicated department to the UK’s cultural, media, sporting, tourism and charity sectors, the work of the department supports growing the economy and enriching lives across the country. Our sectors support over 3.8 million jobs and our exports, from the Premier League to films, are in huge demand around the world. At DCMS, we deliver an incredible impact on people’s everyday lives - from supporting local museums, galleries, cinemas and theatres to delivering sports pitches and youth facilities, or backing charities making a huge difference right across the country.

The Senior Accountant (Financial Control) post can be based in either the London or Manchester office. This role is in the central Financial Accounting and Control Team (FACT). In addition to being DCMS’ financial accounting Centre of Excellence, the team leads in the production of the consolidated accounts of the DCMS Group (with 34 of its 42 Arms Length Bodies directly consolidated) and manages the National Lottery Distribution Fund. The team is the hub for all financial operational and control functions including treasury management, VAT, purchase to pay support and manages the relationship with DCMS’ shared services provider. The DCMS Finance team is relatively small and this provides opportunities for development not always found in a bigger department.

Key responsibilities of the Senior Accountant (Financial Control) will include:

• Management and delivery of robust financial policies, controls, processes and systems.
• Management of the core department’s key finance system (Integra) and the relationship with the department’s shared service provider.
• Overseeing the payment process for suppliers via Purchase to Pay (P2P), including prompt payment monitoring and reporting.
• Lead on the preparation of the DCMS core accounts.
• Leading the audit of the Core Department and ensuring all necessary documentation is available to the National Audit Office.
• Provision of sound technical advice on complex accounting, taxation and budgeting issues to a wide range of stakeholders.
• Ensuring that the Department’s financial systems, cash management and cash forecasting regimes run securely, smoothly and efficiently.
• Key influencer in the Matrix cross-departmental cluster to drive decision making for the new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system which DCMS will be an early adopter of.
• Leadership and line management (including recruitment, development and training) of 3 direct staff and task management/close collaboration with 2 other staff members within the wider team.

The successful Senior Accountant (Financial Control) will have:

• Qualified financial accountant (CCAB, CIMA or equivalent) with demonstrable post qualifying experience in a large finance team
• Experience of preparing (or auditing) accounts in conformity with relevant accounting standards
• Experience of managing or using financial systems and advanced knowledge of Excel
• Be an excellent communicator, able to explain complex ideas both verbally and written
• Proven ability to work as part of a team delivering at pace in a fast-moving environment
• External audit background (desirable)
• Knowledge and experience of the FReM, Consolidated Budgeting Guidance (CBG), Managing Public Money and HM Treasury’s supply estimates manual  (desirable)

For more information, please apply using the link or contact Michael Swinburn at our retained search agent, Robertson Bell.