Principal Accountant

Local Government accountant Chief accountant, Technical accountant

Your new company
Epping Forest District Council takes its name from the forest which runs from its southern boundary northwards. The district shares boundaries with Greater London and Hertfordshire.

The three main settlements of Buckhurst Hill, Chigwell and Loughton contain more than half the population of approximately 131,000 people but occupy only 5% of the district. The remaining 95% is made up of separate market towns, villages and hamlets in attractive countryside; most of the district is protected as part of the Metropolitan Green Belt, with no less than 25 Designated Conservation Areas.

As well as its rural aspect, Epping Forest has excellent transport links, with the M25 and M11 motorways running through the district and central London is only 30 minutes away through direct access to the Central Line.

It is a great place where people enjoy living, working, learning and leisure.

The Council has ambitious plans and a first-class Finance function is integral to the achievement of those plans. To this end, the Corporate Finance Team is undergoing transformational change, with an overwhelming commitment to customer service and a clear vision to achieve financial sustainability and excellence in all its forms.


Your new role
A great opportunity has arisen for a full-time (36 hours per week) Principal Accountant to lead the Accounting, Systems and Treasury (AST) work cluster within the Corporate Finance Team.

Reporting directly to, and deputising for, the Service Head and responsible for leading and line managing four staff, the successful candidate will ensure that the Council is underpinned by a first class technical accounting function that ensures legal compliance, and delivers outputs that meet all relevant professional, and nationally recognised, good practice standards. This will include:

• Leading on the detailed preparation of the Council's annual Statement of Accounts, in partnership with the wider Corporate Finance Team, ensuring that the Statements are prepared in accordance with statutory deadlines, and in full compliance with all legislative requirements and relevant accounting standards

• Ensuring that tailored and accurate management information is generated from the Financial Management System in accordance with established timetables and ad hoc requests

• Overseeing the Council's Treasury Management and other control functions, including bank and feeder system reconciliations, ensuring that strong financial control is continuously maintained

• Ensuring that the Council complies with its Tax obligations, including the timely completion of monthly VAT returns, and providing internal Tax advice as necessary

• Where appropriate, ensuring that the financial implications in corporate and service business cases, and other reports, are professionally guided and accurate

• Ensuring that all outputs from the AST cluster are neat and professionally presented, reflecting the standards set by the Council and Corporate Finance Team; and

• Completing and reviewing Government and other returns in accordance with published deadlines.

What you'll need to succeed
The successful candidate will be a qualified accountant (ACA, CIMA, ACCA, CIPFA) with local government experience, including substantial experience in leading on the year-end closure process and the preparation of the annual Statement of Accounts in accordance with the CIPFA Code of Practice and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

A sound working knowledge of accounting systems is also essential.

A good general understanding in other technical accounting areas including Capital Accounting, Treasury Management and Taxation is also desirable.

Staff supervision and people management experience is a requirement and experience of working with, advising and influencing senior officers on financial matters is also required.

A genuine enthusiasm for transformation and excellence is essential.


What you'll get in return
A competitive salary of up to £55,276 is available. A market supplement of £10,000 could also be available for the right candidate.

The Council can offer an excellent working environment through its new "collaborative working" approach, which promotes remote working as well as on site working at our newly refurbished Civic Offices in Epping, which is a modern, high specification workspace.

The Council also offers a range of other benefits including a basic 28 days annual leave in addition to public holidays and access to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).


What you need to do now
If you're interested in this role, click 'apply now' to forward an up-to-date copy of your CV, or call us now.
If this job isn't quite right for you but you are looking for a new position, please contact us for a confidential discussion on your career.

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