Vacancy -- Consolidation Accountant

Working for the Civil Service

The Welsh Government's recruitment processes are underpinned by the principle of selection for appointment on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles.

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

Vacancy Details

Chief Operating Officer’s Group
Governance, Subsidy Control, Accounts and Tax
HEO - £32,460 - £39,690
£32,460
Full time (applications are welcome from people who work part time, as part of a job share or who work full time)
Permanent
Pan Wales
'Pan Wales' means that the location in which the vacancy can be based is flexible, subject to the needs of the business. Please note it may not always be possible to accommodate a preference for a specific office location, but requests will be taken into consideration.
TBC

Purpose of Post:

A key role in the Welsh Government accounts team, providing support and advice on financial controls and supporting the SEO in the production of the Welsh Government’s year end consolidated resource accounts and the annual Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) return to HM Treasury.

Key tasks:

  • Plan and action activities to produce the Consolidated Account and WGA Return;
  • Assist with the compilation of the Welsh Government Consolidated Accounts and WGA Return at year end, including:
    • Liaising with departments
    • Liaising with Designated Bodies
    • Requesting contributions
    • Preparation of accounts and relevant audit trail
    • Meeting with Audit Wales (AW) auditors
    • Review of audit trail
  • Perform the initial review of the Designated Bodies Accounts to be consolidated at Year end;
  • Responsible for the initial upload of data from the Designated Bodies account into the consolidation tool;
  • Prepare elimination journals;
  • Implement the alignment changes including coding changes and impact on the consolidated SORO reporting within the ETB e.g. newly designated bodies;
  • Assist the SEO with the introduction of revised processes for the consolidation, dry run the process and cover any audit issues raised.
  • Act as a contact point for the HMT WGA Team;
  • Manage the provision of any HM Treasury requests;
  • Develop and maintain appropriate guidance;
  • Record, report and ensure action on lessons learnt from each set of accounts;
  • Provide assistance to other parts the division as and when required;
  • Perform Month 9 and Year End agreement of balances exercise with other UK Public Sector Bodies;
  • Develop, write, review and update consolidation tool and WGA desk instructions;
  • Assist with the monitoring of action on Audit Wales management letter points arising from the audits of the Consolidated Accounts and WGA to ensure that each one is actioned according to the plan;
  • Act as a contact for the SAP development team;
  • Advise and guide on reports available and develop them as needed, in conjunction with the SAP development team;
  • Manage the Welsh Government’s response to the HM Treasury’s Finance Staff Survey; and
  • Attend management meetings (e.g. sub-HoFs, & RASIG) when requested.

Development opportunities:

Working as part of the Welsh Government Consolidation team this role offers the opportunity to work with colleagues across the Welsh public sector and UK Central Government sector, develop public sector financial reporting skills and knowledge and work as part of the wider Welsh Government team for financial reporting in a £20 billion plus public sector entity, and as part of the wider Welsh Government and UK Government Finance Function.

Closing Date:

03/04/2023, 16:00

Eligibility

Posts recruited to as part of this recruitment campaign are broadly open to UK nationals, those with right to remain and work in the UK and those that meet the Civil Service Nationality Rules only. Check your eligibility here:

Prior to appointment, all successful applicants will be required to produce original, acceptable documents as part of the pre-employment checks. If it becomes apparent at a later stage in the process that you aren’t eligible to apply, your application will be withdrawn, or offer retracted.

Equality and Diversity

The Welsh Government is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and which promote equality of opportunity. This is underpinned by the Equality Act 2010 and will be adhered to at each stage of the recruitment process. Our goal is to ensure that these commitments are also embedded in our day-to-day working practices with all our customers, colleagues and partners.

We are committed to being an anti-racist organisation and increasing diversity in the Welsh Government by removing barriers and supporting all our staff to reach their potential. We are committed to recruiting Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people and disabled people who are currently under-represented in Welsh Government.

We welcome applications from everyone regardless of age, marriage and civil partnership (both same sex and opposite sex), impairment or health condition, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, gender identity or gender expression.

We are a Stonewall Diversity Champion and a Disability Confident Level 3 (Leader) organisation. Key to supporting this work and providing peer support are five Board sponsored Staff Networks (Disability Awareness and Support (DAAS); Minority Ethnic Support Network (MESN); Mind Matters (Mental health and well-being); PRISM (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex +) and Women Together.

Disability Confident

A Great Place to Work for Veterans

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

Welsh Language Requirements

The Welsh Government is a bilingual organisation and Welsh language skills are considered an asset to the organisation. We encourage and support staff to learn, develop and use their Welsh language skills in the workplace. 

The following list of language requirements represents an objective assessment by the line manager on behalf of the Welsh Government of the Welsh language skills required to undertake the duties of this particular post.

Not necessary to undertake the duties of this post

Social Partnership

In Welsh Government, the relationship between the employer and trade unions is based on social partnership. We believe our goals can best be achieved by management and trade unions working together.

Our 3 recognised trade unions are:
•         PCS
•         Prospect
•         FDA

This relationship is underpinned by a partnership agreement. This sets out how our unions work with Welsh Government on issues such as:
•         pay
•         terms and conditions
•         policies and procedures
•         organisational change.

Our Welsh Government trade union colleagues work together to give their members a real say in the workplace. They make sure that the interests of their members are promoted and protected. They also help reduce inequalities and improve terms and conditions.

The Welsh Government has an excellent track record of working in partnership with its trade unions. We encourage staff to get involved. We support you to join a recognised trade union, to ensure your voice is heard in the workplace. and to learn more about trade unions and partnership working.

Competencies / Job Specific Criteria

Competencies

Changing and Improving

  • Regularly review procedures or systems with teams to identify improvements and simplify processes and decision making

 Collaborating and Partnering

  • Establish relationships with a range of stakeholders to support delivery of business outcomes

 Managing a quality service

  • Work with team to set priorities, goals, objectives and timescales

 Delivering at pace

  • Show a positive approach in keeping their own and the team’s efforts focused on the goals that really matter

Job Specific Criteria 

  1. CCAB qualified or CCAB trainee due to the technical aspects of the role and the broad understanding of financial management issues to which those aspects apply. (CCAB Trainee includes exemptions held for CCAB)
  2. A detailed working knowledge of processing transactions on the SAP finance system is desirable, including the ability to address system issues and contribute towards system development.
  3. Ability to prepare key reconciliations to support year end accounts and experience in the production of the year-end financial accounts.

Assessment Process

Applications will be sifted, successful candidates will then be invited to an interview.

Other Information

  • Unless stated otherwise in ‘actual starting salary’, all candidates will start at the minimum of the pay scale being appointed to (this includes existing civil servants).This is not negotiable.
  • Unless stated otherwise in ‘type of opportunity’, this recruitment advert is not open on a Loan or Secondment basis.
  • For more information on the eligibility criteria and terms and conditions for Loan and Secondment positions in Welsh Government, please see external recruitment candidate guidance.
  • Unless stated otherwise in ‘Location of Post’ the role/s recruited to via this campaign can only be worked in the UK, not overseas.
Under Hybrid working blended remote / office attendance however managing a team primarily Cardiff based and liaison with Cardiff based audit teams, therefore some regular face to face attendance in Cardiff is a requirement of the role.
Mathew Nash / Kim Jenkins - fpc&d@gov.wales

How to apply

All applications for this vacancy should be made online via the Welsh Government's online application system.  If you have an impairment which would prevent you from applying on-line, please e-mail SharedServiceHelpdesk@gov.wales to request an application pack in an alternative format, or to request a reasonable adjustment related to an impairment in order to submit your application.

To apply, you'll need to have an account on our online application system.  Click the 'Apply' button below, and you'll be asked to 'Log in' if you already have an account, or 'Register' if you don't yet have an account.  Registration takes just a few minutes to complete.  You'll need an e-mail address to be able to register.  Once you've registered for an account and logged in, you'll be taken to the online application form, which you'll need to fully complete and submit before the deadline on the closing date.  

If you’d like to apply for this vacancy in Welsh, please use the ‘Newid Iaith / Change Language’ link at the top of this page, to take you to the Welsh version of this advert, from which you can apply in Welsh.

For further information regarding the Welsh Government recruitment process, please see the Recruitment Guidance for External Candidates (link).

When evidencing your suitability for the post, it is recommended that you refer to the Civil Service Competency Framework (link)

Grievance and Complaints

Anyone who believes they have been treated unfairly, or has a grievance or complaint, about how the process was conducted should either write to the Head of Resourcing, Welsh Government, Cathays Park 2, Cardiff CF10 3NQ or email SharedServiceHelpdesk@gov.wales.  If you are unhappy with the outcome of the complaint raised with the Welsh Government and feel that the principles of appointment on merit through fair and open competition have not been met you have the right to pursue your grievance with the Civil Service Commission.

This vacancy is closed to applications.