4-5 months contract with a Local Authority Job Summary: • To support the Financial Planning Manager and Principal Accountant (Financial Planning) in providing system support for budget monitoring and budget development, including advice and guidance to Finance Business Partners across the council. • To maintain and develop financial models and systems for all aspects of financial planning and to assist with analysis of the Council’s budgets and financial aspects of service delivery – including ensuring financial systems reflect Council structures to support accountability and ownership of the Council’s budgets, that the Council’s staffing establishment is fully reflected within the Council’s budgets and that systems are in place to support financial reporting to Cabinet. • To support the annual budget production process for the council. • To support the monthly budget monitoring process. • To assist with the accounting for the Council’s establishment. Key Duties/Accountabilities (Sample): • To support the Principal Accountant in aligning the Council’s financial systems with the management structure for the authority to ensure ownership and accountability is maintained against the Council’s budgets and financial activity. • To support the Principal Accountant in undertaking an annual budget review exercises to develop the next financial year’s budget in line with the medium-term financial planning strategy. • To support the production of the annual revenue budget for the authority in conjunction with service areas, including the statutory requirement for setting council tax and the production of all reports for CMT and members. • To take responsibility as directed for reconciling the Council’s staffing establishment and ensuring that this is fully reflected within the Council’s financial systems and aligns to the appropriate budget holders. • To support the monitoring of the receipt and use of all grant income to ensure correct recognition and use, as well as maintaining systems and processes for all corporate levy income and expenditure. • To maintain the budget virement monitor and assist in the monthly production of control totals for budget monitoring and to support the collation of the monthly revenue monitoring report as required. • To prepare financial statistical returns as directed by the Principal Accountant. • Be fully conversant with the Council’s General Ledger and Financial Information systems and be able to assist other members of Corporate Finance in accessing and interpreting this information. • To maintain an up to date working knowledge of the Authority's Creditor, Payroll and Income systems, in order to be able to resolve queries. • To assist with and respond to any investigations and reports of the Internal Audit Section and External Audit, as required. • Any other duties commensurate with the work and grading of the post as directed by the Principal Accountant. • To take responsibility for specific financial models, manage and develop the council’s budget monitoring process, ensuring the process evolves in line with Council changes and to provide support to Senior members of the Corporate Finance service as required. • To take personal responsibility to produce the budget book (or similar) and ensure information is adequate to support the needs of Corporate Finance. • To undertake additional project work as directed by the Financial Planning Manager and/or Principal Accountant. • To represent the Financial Planning Manager or Principal Accountant as the finance expert in specific areas both internally and externally, delivering presentations and attending meetings as required. • Assist in the preparatory work on the provision of comments on behalf of the Financial Planning Manager as to the financial implications of proposals contained in reports to Cabinet. Skills/Experience: • Demonstratable local government finance experience. • Experience of using based financial systems within a large complex organisation. • Ability to effectively utilise IT packages, including Microsoft software spreadsheets and word processing packages. • Sound understanding of accounting principles and practices and the financial issues affecting local authorities. • Good working knowledge of a General Ledger package. • Proven analytical skills and ability to present financial information clearly. • Strong organisational and time management skills and ability to work to tight deadlines. Additional Information: • AAT fully qualified or equivalent and / or experience requirements as set out below. • Passed first year of a full professional CCAB accounting qualification and / or experience requirements as set out below.