Advisory and Forensic Accountant

Job Description

Higher Starting Pay 
HMRC can offer Higher Starting Pay up to £67,503 nationally and £74,408 in London, depending on skills and experience.

Introduction to HMRC
HMRC is the UK's tax, payments and customs authority and we have a vital purpose: we collect the money that pays for the UK’s public services and help families and individuals with targeted financial support.

We have approximately 140 Advisory and Forensic Accountants within HMRC and by joining us you will be able to support HMRC’s drive to tackle avoidance and criminality, while making a positive difference to the nation’s finances. You will play an active role in high-profile issues and ultimately your work will touch the lives of everyone in the UK.

All our Advisory and Forensic Accountants are qualified accountants, most having trained and spent many years in the profession or industry prior to joining HMRC. Importantly, you will be joining a team where we share our wealth of knowledge and breadth of experience and apply this to commercial situations, both on an advisory perspective as well as a forensic perspective (i.e. for Court).

Variety of Posts
We are seeking to fill posts in two different Advisory and Forensic Accountant roles. These roles are as follows:

• For 3 of the posts, your work will principally support the Large Business customer group, which is responsible for over 2,000 of the largest businesses in the UK.  These posts are located in London, Nottingham and Newcastle.
• For 2 of the posts, your work will principally support the Solicitor’s Office, which is responsible for all accountancy advice given to support HMRC officers, whether in court or within HMRC. These posts are located in Leeds, London and Salford.

Job Role
As a member of the Advisory and Forensic Accountants’ team you will:

• Be a visible leader within and outside HMRC, promoting the work of the directorates and HMRC, working cross directorate and actively implementing strategy.
• Support litigation, to include acting as an expert witness, case accountant or witness of fact. Be proactive in assisting others involved in litigation.  When acting as an expert, prepare and review professional reports with both factual and opinion evidence, attending case conferences, meetings and Court appearances whilst acting with professionalism, integrity and independence at all times.
• Provide accounting advice, analysing relevant customer facts, accounting frameworks, applying precedent and, where appropriate, challenging customer’s accounting analysis.
• Support risk activities, including reviewing financial statements and accounting information, meeting with customers and working with other specialists to form a view and assess impact for tax.
• Communicate, meet and negotiate with internal and external stakeholders to influence behaviour, including case teams, policy experts, other advisory and forensic accountants, courts and customers.
• Develop and provide quality accountancy training to accountancy and tax professionals. Tailor training materials and offer follow up support to delegates.
• Coach and mentor colleagues and trainees, using own skills and experience to aid their development.
• Share knowledge amongst Advisory and Forensic accountants and more widely, as appropriate, using innovative methods and digital tools.
• Assist delivery of strategic objectives, matching resource to risk, through prioritisation, work planning and national/cross directorate work sharing.

In addition to the above core activities, in both roles you will be expected to provide strategic oversight, lead the delivery of key work strands and provide input into the most complex accountancy issues.    

Person specification requirements

• Ability to demonstrate expertise and experience at a sufficient level and authority to appear credible to courts, tribunals, accountancy firms, customers and senior HMRC officers.
• Strong financial accounting experience, which must include experience of business or company accounting relating to the application of accounting standards, gained through one of the following roles:

• a financial accounting, auditing or advisory / forensic accounting role in an accountancy firm;
• a financial accounting role in industry; or
• a financial accounting or advisory / forensic accounting role in a public sector organisation.

Qualifications and Memberships

Full and complete qualification from, and continuing membership of, at least 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) or the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA).

Part qualified accountants are not eligible for these posts.

Competencies

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

• Leading and communicating
• Delivering at pace
• Making effective decisions
• Seeing the big picture

Sift / interview dates

Sifting will take place shortly after the campaign closes with interviews expected to take place in March 2019 (interview locations to be confirmed).

Contact point for applicants

Richard Cannon:            richard.cannon2@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk; or
Chris Haworth:               christopher.haworth@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk.