The Bank of England is the UK's central bank. Our mission is to deliver monetary and financial stability for the British people.
The Bank of England is a diverse organisation. Each of its 4,000 plus people are committed to public service and dedicated to promoting the good of the people of the United Kingdom by maintaining monetary and financial stability.
Finance & Performance Directorate plays a critical role in developing the corporate strategy and protecting the Bank's financial position and reputation. The overall purpose of the Directorate is to contribute to the successful execution of the Bank's aims and objectives by ensuring it has an appropriate financial platform for its broader responsibilities and for the challenges facing an organisation with a balance sheet of around £1 trillion.
This is a critical time for the Bank, with significant uncertainties in the external outlook and major change programmes internally. More than ever, the Bank’s actions will be subject to close external scrutiny.
The Directorate has the following divisions: Financial Reporting, Control and Tax, Performance & Value, Finance Transformation and the Corporate Portfolio Office.
Department Overview
The Financial Reporting & Control team is responsible for oversight and review of the financial control and accounting policy framework for the Bank of England (including the PRA) and its subsidiaries, including the Bank of England Asset Purchase Facility Fund (BEAPFF), and the Bank of England Alternative Liquidity Facility (BEALF). It is also responsible for preparation of the annual report and accounts and the weekly report and leads on testing requirements in respect of the general ledger.
Job description
The Financial accountant will be responsible for reporting on the Bank of England's balance sheet and income (split across different portfolios) and subsidiaries of the Bank. Reporting responsibilities includes both internal and statutory external reporting (annual report and accounts) and taking ownership of portfolios assigned to them and ensuring that Finance operates a robust control framework.
In addition, in REPLACEMENT_STRING24, the Bank intends to implement a new general ledger and new reconciliations systems as part of a significant transformation of IT and Central Services operating model. A first phase, the introduction a Share Services structure, has already taken place. The jobholder will have an important role to shape and deliver this implementation, to upgrade the team’s tools and processes and improve outputs and analysis for stakeholders.
Duties Include:
- Completing daily/weekly profit and loss reports for assigned portfolios and working with front office to resolve any issues.
- Reporting and management information for portfolios, including posting month end adjustments, completing/reviewing reconciliations, obtaining substantiation, completing analytical review of movements and providing commentary.
- Preparation of forecast and budget numbers and providing commentary and explanation of variances.
- Contribute to the production of the annual report and accounts process for the Bank, Notes department, PRA, BEAPFF Ltd and BEALF, ensuring they adhere to IFRS where applicable. Work with other business areas and external auditors as required (both the National Audit Office and KPMG).
- Provide analysis and impact assessment on the Bank’s statutory and internal reporting in light of any policy decisions and other projects as they arise.
- Able to understand and apply accounting standards for assigned portfolios.
- Support other areas of the Bank with ad hoc projects and activities.
- Support in the delivery of system change projects for Finance as they arise.
- Drive and lead on improvements in the financial control framework.
- Drive on improvements for existing processes to ensure they are efficient as possible and robust.
- Review the Bank’s statistical reporting and ensure it complies with guidelines.
Role Requirements
Essential Criteria
- Be a qualified accountant (ACA/ACCA/CIMA) with experience in financial reporting (IFRS) and financial control; or hold an equivalent mix of qualifications and practical experience.
- Good IT skills, including Excel, and the ability to learn new IT systems and processes.
- Experience of effective engagement with different stakeholder groups across an organisation and be able to maintain effective working relationships.
- The ability to take initiative and drive for results with limited oversight.
- Able to communicate, succinctly and in simple terms, both verbally and in writing.
- High attention to detail, ensuring work output is accurate and relevant.
- Good workload management skills with a core focus on delivery. Be flexible and adaptable in order to ensure tasks are prioritised effectively and delivered on time.
- Be a team player and able to work collaboratively with others and share knowledge.
Desirable Criteria
- Considerable post-qualification experience is preferred.
- Strong IFRS technical knowledge, including financial instruments.
- Knowledge of financial risk management and asset valuation is desirable.
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Our Approach to Inclusion
The Bank values diversity, equity and inclusion. We play a key role in maintaining monetary and financial stability, and to do that effectively, we believe we need a workforce that reflects the society we serve.
At the Bank of England we want all colleagues to feel valued and respected, so we're working hard to build an inclusive culture which supports people from all backgrounds and communities to be at their best at work. We celebrate all forms of diversity, including (but not limited to) age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. We believe that it’s by drawing on different perspectives and experiences that we’ll continue to make the best decisions for the public.
We welcome applications from individuals who work flexibly, including job shares and part time working patterns. We've also partnered with external organisations to support us in making adjustments for candidates and employees in the recruitment process where they're needed.
For most roles where work can be carried out at home, we aim for colleagues to spend half of their time in the office, with a minimum of 40% per month. Subject to that minimum requirement, individuals and managers should work together to find what works best for them, their team and stakeholders.
Finally, we're proud to be a member of the Disability Confident scheme. You can find more information on what this means here. If you wish to apply under this scheme, you should check the box in the ‘Candidate Personal Information’ under the ‘Disability Confident Scheme’ section of the application.
Salary and Benefits Information
This specific role offers a base salary of circa £45,900 - £56,160 per annum (depending on skills and experience) on a full-time basis. We encourage flexible working, part time working and job share arrangements. Part time salary and benefits will be on a pro-rated basis as appropriate.
In addition, we also offer a comprehensive benefits package as detailed below:
- A non-contributory, career average pension giving you a guaranteed retirement benefit of 1/95th of your annual salary for every year worked. There is the option to increase your pension (to 1/50th) or decrease (to 1/120th) in exchange for salary through our flexible benefits programme each year.
- A discretionary performance award based on a current award pool.
- A 7% benefits allowance with the option to take as salary or purchase a wide range of flexible benefits. (Note that from April 2023 and for the Benefits year 2023/24, this will increase to 8%)
- 26 days’ annual leave with option to buy up to 12 additional days through flexible benefits.
- Private medical insurance and income protection.
National Security Vetting Process
Employment in this role will be subject to the National Security Vetting clearance process (and typically can take between 6 to 12 weeks post offer) and the passing of additional Bank security checks in accordance with the Bank policy. Further information regarding the vetting and security clearance requirements for the role will be provided to the successful applicant, and information about how the Bank processes personal data for these purposes, is set out in the Bank’s Privacy Notice at Privacy and the Bank of England | Bank of England.
The Application Process
Important: Please ensure that you complete the ‘work history’ section and answer ALL the application questions fully. All candidate applications are anonymised to ensure that our hiring managers will not be able to see your personal information, including your CV, when reviewing your application details at the screening stage. It’s therefore really important that you fill out the work history and application form questions, as your answers will form a critical part of the initial selection process.
The closing date for applications is 24th August 2023.
The assessment process will comprise of two stages.
Please apply online, ensuring that you complete your work history and answer ALL the application questions fully and in detail as your application will not be considered if all mandatory questions are not fully completed.