Advisory Accountant - Leeds

Advisory Accountant - Leeds About the job

Job summary

Discover what it's like to work in a compliance role that makes an impact. Could you help us shape a stronger, fairer future? Your next career move starts here.

The Customer Compliance Group (CCG) brings all our compliance customer segment directorates into one group: Large Business, Wealthy and Mid-sized Business, Small Business and Individuals.

The group also includes several teams who work across business segments such as Fraud Investigation Service (FIS), Counter Avoidance (CA) and Risk & Intelligence Service (RIS).

CCG ensures that HMRC collects the full and accurate amount of money due from UK taxpayers, investigates offenses against the tax system and takes action to identify and mitigate potential threats.

HMRC strive to provide fair, lawful and impartial service by putting the customer experience at the heart of our compliance work. In CCG, we deliver on HMRC Charter commitments by applying the Compliance Professional Standards consistently to all our work.

Job description

Are you a qualified accountant with strong financial accounting experience from working in practice or industry?

Will you bring commercial knowledge and an understanding of how businesses operate, and how accounting standards apply to sophisticated transactions?

Would the offer of hybrid working, actual flexi-time and genuine work-life balance alongside captivating technical work interest you?

If so, we can offer you a role that offers exciting and ambitious work that makes a huge difference to the nation's finances.

Our team of 150 accountants support HMRC's compliance teams and have previously worked in varied roles in practice or industry, including audit and financial accounting positions. Equivalent roles in the private sector will include managers in Practice and financial accountants in industry.

We are looking for 2 accountants to join our team of Advisory Accountants based in Fraud Investigation Service. We provide accountancy support to tax colleagues working across the customer groups with a primary focus on Wealthy and Mid-Sized Business, Small Business and Individuals and Counter-Avoidance.

As an Advisory Accountant you will research technical issues and explain these and the related entries in financial statements in providing accountancy advice to non-accountant colleagues. You will also use your commercial awareness of how businesses operate and will clarify the further information required to enhance our understanding of transactions.

Person specification

As an Advisory Accountant, your role will include the following:

• Provide accounting advice for complex accountancy issues - analysing relevant customer facts, accounting frameworks and, where appropriate, challenge customers' accounting analyses. No specific tax knowledge is required for the role.
• Meet with customers and work with other specialists to form a view and assess the impact of the accounting treatment for tax.
• Support litigation, acting as an expert accounting witness, case accountant or witness of fact and be proactive in assisting others involved in litigation.
• Prepare and review professional reports that contain factual or opinion evidence, attend case conferences, meetings and tribunal acting with professionalism, integrity and independence.
• Develop and provide quality accountancy training to accountancy and tax professionals, offering follow-up support to delegates.
• Coach and support colleagues in understanding accountancy matters.
• Share knowledge and best practice, using innovative methods and digital tools.
• Demonstrate leadership, expertise, and authority to credibly engage with key collaborators including agents, tribunals, colleagues, customers, and senior HMRC officers.

This role requires strong financial accounting experience gained and consolidated in either practice, industry, public sector or private sector, dealing with a range of stakeholders.

This should be demonstrated by:

• Experience of working on complex technical financial accounting matters, including:

o Analysing and interpreting financial records.
o Preparing or reviewing financial statements; and
o Considering the appropriate accounting treatment of a variety of specific transactions.

• A clear understanding of accounting principles and the application of GAAP in the UK.
• Strong communication skills, including delivery of reports or briefings to senior stakeholders.
• Experience of coaching and supporting others in relation to accountancy matters.
• Commercial knowledge and an understanding of how businesses operate including accounting systems.
• Proficiency in managing and reporting intercompany transactions including within multinational group structures.
• Exposure to international operations or cross-border work may be advantageous

Essential Criteria

You must already have full and complete qualification from, and continuing membership of, one of the following professional accounting bodies:

• The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
• The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS)
• Chartered Accountants Ireland (CAI)
• The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
• The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
• The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA)

Part qualified accountants are not eligible to apply for these posts.

Please confirm which body you are a full member of within your CV.

You will be required to show evidence of your qualification and membership at interview.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• A 250 word example of your Technical Skills
• An accountancy based Presentation - Technical Content
• An accountancy based Presentation - Presentation Skills

We only ask for evidence of these technical skills on your application form:

• A 250 word example of your Technical Skills

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £58,541, HM Revenue and Customs contributes £16,959 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

HMRC operates both Flexible and Hybrid Working policies, allowing you to balance your work and personal commitments. We welcome applications from those who need to work a more flexible arrangement and will agree to requests where possible, considering our operational and customer service needs.

We offer a generous leave allowance, starting at 25 days and increasing by a day for every year of qualifying service up to a maximum of 30 days.

• Pension - We make contributions to our colleagues' Alpha pension equal to at least 28.97% of their salary.
• Family friendly policies.
• Personal support.
• Coaching and development.

To find out more about HMRC benefits and find out what it's really like to work for HMRC hear from our insiders or visit Thinking of joining the Civil Service

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

How to Apply

As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide the following:

• A name-blind CV. Your CV will be tailored to the role advertised, detailing your job history, skills and experience. Your CV should be clear, concise and easily digestible to the reader. For each role please include:
  Dates in role (MM/YY - MM/YY).
  Employer.
  Job Title.
  A description of your responsibilities and relevant achievements detailing the 'what you did' and 'how you did it'.
  Detail any key achievements and the impact your work has had, tailor this to showcase how your experience aligns with the advertised role and essential criteria.
  Qualifications: You must include your accountancy qualification and the full name of the accountancy body of which you are a member of. We will not consider applications which do not include this information in the CV.
• Aseparate 250-word statement addressing the following questionand highlighting your Technical Skills. Please give an example from your accountancy role of when you have dealt with a complex accountancy issue. What information did you use to support your position? How did you communicate with others? What challenges did you face and how did you deal with these? Include which role this relates to from your CV.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Sift

In the event of a large number of applications being received, an initial sift may be held on your CV.

At full sift your CV and your Technical Skills Statement will be assessed, with the successful candidates being invited to interview.

We may also raise the score required at any stage of the process if we receive a high number of applications.

Interview

If you are successful at Sift, you will be invited to an interview which involves the preparation of a short technical written output.

During the panel interview you will :

• Have 10 minutes to verbally present the points highlighted in your written output. You will be evaluated on your Presentation Skills (Verbal/Written) and your Technical Skills. You will be provided with details in advance of your interview.
• Be asked Experience questions to understand your suitability for the role advertised.
• Be asked Questions seeking examples of the behaviour Communicating and Influencing.

Interviews will take place face to face at Leeds and Stratford Regional Centres with candidates interviewed in their selected preferred location.

Interview dates are planned for 1st and 2nd June in Leeds and 3rd and 4th June in Stratford. Dates are provided as a guide only and may change.

Eligibility

Please take extra care to tick the correct boxes in the eligibility sections of your application form. Mistakes sometimes happen but if you contact us later than two working days (Monday-Friday) before the vacancy closes, we may not be able to reopen your application for you. If you do make a mistake with your eligibility form, or have withdrawn yourself in error and need your application reinstated whilst the campaign is still live, please contact us via: [email protected] - Use the subject line to insert appropriate wording for example - 'Please re-open my application - [insert vacancy ref] & vacancy closing date [insert date]'.

To check that you are eligible to apply for this role, please review the eligibility information before submitting your application.

The HMRC app can help you with your application

The HMRC app can provide you with your past 5 years' employment history, making the process of filling in your application quicker and easier.

If successful in your application, you will need your National Insurance number for the onboarding process.

Download the HMRC app now and save your National Insurance number to your digital phone wallet.

How to download the HMRC app and sign up for an account

Download the free HMRC app from the App Store or Google Play store.

If you have an HMRC online account already, sign straight in using your ID and password. If not, you can prove your identity by answering some questions or providing your photo ID.

You'll then be able to access the app quickly and easily by signing in using a 6-digit PIN, your fingerprint, or facial recognition.

You can find guidance for technical issues on GOV.UK: Technical support with HMRC online services.

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made for the same or similar roles - if this applies to you, we'll let you know via your Civil Service Jobs account.

Merit List

After interview, merit lists will be created for each location advertised within the vacancy. If you are successful at interview, you will be placed on the merit list for any locations you have expressed an interest for. Appointments from each merit list will be made in strict merit order.

Criminal Record Check

Applications received from candidates with a criminal record are considered fairly in accordance with the DBS Code of Practice and the Recruitment of ex-offenders Policy.

Hybrid working at HMRC

HMRC is an office-based organisation, and colleagues are expected to spend 60% of their working time in the office. Our offices provide opportunity for interaction, collaboration which aids learning and development and a sense of community. Where the role allows it, and where the home environment is suitable, colleagues can work from home for up to 2 days a week, averaged over a calendar month (or a proportionate amount of time for colleagues who work less than full time).

Reasonable Adjustments

We want to make sure no one is put at a disadvantage during our recruitment process. To assist you with this, we will reduce or remove any barriers where possible and provide additional support where appropriate.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Contact the UBS Recruitment team via [email protected] as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the "Assistance required" section in the "Additional requirements" page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you're deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Technical Support

If you are experiencing problems that cannot be resolved by our 'help' section, then technical support is available. You will receive a reply in 2 working days.

Important information for existing HMRC contractual homeworkers:

Please note that this role is unsuitable for contractual homeworkers due to the nature and/or requirements of the role.

Terms and Conditions

Customer facing roles in HMRC require the ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English and/or Welsh where required. Where this is an essential requirement, this will be tested as part of the selection process.

HMRC has a presence in every region of the UK. For more information on where you might be working, review this information on our locations (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expects all candidates to abide by these principles. The evidence you provide in your application must relate to your own experiences.

Any instances of plagiarism or other forms of cheating will be investigated and, if proven, the relevant application(s) will be withdrawn from the process.

Recording of interviews is prohibited unless explicit agreement is sought in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulations.

Questions relating to an individual application must be emailed as detailed later in this advert.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant's details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

New entrants will join on the minimum of the pay band.

Please note that, if you are applying for roles on a part-time basis, the salary agreed will be pro-rata, reflective of the working hours agreed within your contract.

If you experience accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

For more Information for people applying for, or thinking of applying for, roles at HM Revenue and Customs, please see link: Working for HMRC: information for applicants - GOV.UK.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).