City: WEMBLEY, LONDON
Supporting the HRA Senior Finance Analyst and contributing towards preparation of the HRA annual statement of accounts and notes and dealing with subsequent audit queries. Carrying out various checks and reconciliations, such as bank and balance sheet reconciliations, to ensure that all balances are intact. Supporting the service with annual housing rent setting and tenants' service charge reviews.
Contributing towards the annual update of the HRA Business Plan and its regular monitoring. Supporting the preparation of HRA budgets. Assisting with collating financial data for various statutory housing returns (LAHS/LADR/RO/RA) and the annual core benchmarking exercise. Helping to ensure that the budget monitoring position is understood and mitigating corrective actions are taken where an overspend is projected. Liaising and building relationship with external parties and partners
Key Responsibilities:
* Providing financial support to budget managers, presenting information on various financial matters
* Supporting the monthly budget monitoring and financial forecasting, including variance analysis
* Assisting in the submission of and understanding of various statutory and benchmarking returns
* Reviewing benchmarking information and supporting the service with identifying action plans for efficiencies and savings
* Supporting the HRA Senior Finance Analyst with budget modelling to determine financial impact of future service demands, changes in legislation and other factors determining resource requirements
* Supporting the delivery of various projects with financial implications and considerations
* Supporting services in identification of funding sources for projects and preparation of bidding documentation
* Supporting the annual closure of the accounts and ensuring statutory deadlines are met
* Assisting with reviewing the viability and value for money of various development schemes
* Maintaining awareness of the wider housing political and economic climate including assumptions around costs, market conditions, alternative/additional forms of financing and how these can be used to maximise housing supply
Key requirements:
* AAT qualified, part qualified CCAB or CII + ongoing study OR equivalent experience
* Knowledge of Oracle Financials reporting Business Objects and ADI
* Knowledge of accounting principals, policies and practices
* Knowledge of financial accounting and control
* Knowledge of local government funding arrangements
* Knowledge of statutory and regulatory reporting requirements in banking
* Knowledge of capital accounting and regulation funding
* A working knowledge of project management methodology
* Knowledge of banking rules and regulations
* Sound understanding of income tax issues
* Experience in investigating changes to accounting rules and areas of potential breach, proposing and implementing viable solutions.
* Experience in producing briefings and reports on specific issues for senior managers. Using information to support arguments and recommendations and able to present complex information verbally as well as in written form. Can produce presentations on specific issues and deliver them to managers and other finance staff
* Experience in identifying major issues and proposing solutions
* Experience with working with managers to identify potential corrective action in response to significant variances, and to develop appropriate action plans.
* Experience of providing advice and support to council service departments whilst at the same time monitoring financial activities and standing on behalf of the Operational Director of Finance.
* Experience of using banking systems
* Experience in local government across both the Housing General Fund and HRA
* Experience in capital year-end
* Strong IT skills including Microsoft packages or equivalent (eg G Suite).
* Good organisational skills and ability to get staff from across the organisation to provide information promptly
* Strong data analysis skills
* Ability to produce written reports collating financial information from across the organisation