Financial Accountant

City of Portsmouth College; Portsmouth; On-site; GBP 34,000 - 38,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual Leave 25 days

Local Government pension

Staff development programmes

Onsite discounts

Online discounts

Free parking

Blue Light Card

Job summary

City of Portsmouth College is seeking a proactive and detail-oriented Financial Accountant to join our Finance team. You will support the College's financial accounting, balance sheet management and financial control activities, ensuring records are accurate and compliant.

Working with the Head of Finance, you will prepare reconciliations, manage the fixed asset register, monitor debtor and creditor balances, and oversee key control accounts, helping produce statutory and management accounts,

Qualifications

• AAT qualification or equivalent accounting qualification.
• Experience with transactional finance teams and statutory reporting.
• Strong maths and English, and attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day transactional finance activities and ensure timely processing of transactions.
• Maintain balance sheet integrity via reconciliations and asset register management.
• Support production of management and statutory accounts and audit requirements.
• Monitor financial controls and funding compliance with policies.
• Assist budgeting, forecasting, and reporting to support decision-making.
• Provide leadership to the finance team and promote governance and customer service.
• Develop and improve financial systems and reporting for efficiency.

Skills

Communication skills

Organisational skills

MS Office

Education

AAT Qualified or relevant QBE

Working towards ACA/ACCA/CIMA/CIPFA or equivalent

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Job description

Job Title: Financial Accountant

Location: Highbury Campus with cross campus travel

Salary: £33,980.34 - £38,225.61 Full Time Equivalent per annum

Hours of work: 37 Hours per week, 52 Weeks per year, Full-Time, Permanent

About us

At City of Portsmouth College, we aspire to be the employer of choice in the Portsmouth area, with a progressive, supportive, and rewarding workplace culture and one that offers competitive benefits for its staff. By joining us, you will personally be part of the change we are driving and will play a pivotal role in supporting the growth and development of our brilliant students, turning them into future leaders and innovators. Everyone at the College is part of the bigger picture and together, each role makes an impact and in turn a difference to our students learning journey.

We have an unrivalled curriculum of courses on offer for students of all ages and stages covering A-levels, Apprenticeships, Vocational & Technical courses. We also offer Higher Education, Online learning and Community courses that appeal to the needs of the local community.

What we offer

• Annual Leave: 25 days total and closure for winter shutdown period in line with Hampshire County Council school holidays & statutory bank holidays
• Pension: Generous Local Government pension. Further information can be found at www.hants.gov.uk/hampshire-services/pensions/local-government
• Learning & Development: Programmes by The Community Adult Education Department
• Staff Development: Access to the College staff development programmes and CPD
• Onsite Discounts: City of Portsmouth College Hair Salon & 50% off at the City of Portsmouth College Sports Centre
• Online Discounts: Unidays, Student Beans, and Totum with a City of Portsmouth College email address
• Parking: Free car parking across all campus sites (apart from Arundel)
• Blue Light Card: providing several discounts for clothing, electrical goods, food and days out, even concert tickets!

About the role

We are seeking a proactive and detail-oriented Financial Accountant to join our Finance team. This role is responsible for supporting the College's financial accounting, balance sheet management and financial control activities, ensuring that financial records are accurate, compliant and maintained to a high standard.

Working closely with the Head of Finance, the finance team and colleagues across the College, you will play a key role in maintaining the integrity of the balance sheet through the preparation and review of reconciliations, management of the fixed asset register, monitoring debtor and creditor balances, and oversight of key control accounts. You will support the production of statutory accounts, management accounts, internal and external audit requirements and financial returns, helping to ensure that financial information is reliable, robust and supports effective decision-making.

The successful candidate will contribute to the development and maintenance of strong financial controls, provide financial analysis and insight, and support continuous improvement across financial systems, processes and reporting. You will also supervise the daily transactional finance activities of the college, providing guidance and support to finance colleagues, and helping to promote high standards of financial governance, compliance and customer service throughout the College.

This is an excellent opportunity for a finance professional who enjoys combining technical accounting expertise with process improvement, stakeholder collaboration and a commitment to delivering high-quality financial services.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and support the day-to-day operation of the College's transactional finance activities, ensuring accurate and timely processing of financial transactions.
• Maintain the integrity of the balance sheet through regular reconciliations, control account reviews and management of the Fixed Asset Register.
• Support the production of management accounts, statutory accounts, financial returns and audit requirements.
• Monitor financial controls and compliance with accounting standards, funding regulations and College policies.
• Assist with budgeting, forecasting, financial analysis and reporting to support effective decision-making.
• Support funding compliance activities, including grant reporting, funding reconciliations and income monitoring.
• Contribute to the development and improvement of financial systems, processes and reporting to drive efficiency and best practice.
• Provide leadership and technical guidance to the finance team while building strong relationships with colleagues across the College to promote high standards of financial governance and customer service.

To be successful in this role

• AAT Qualified or relevant QBE, ideally working towards a recognised professional accountancy qualification (ACA, ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA or equivalent)
• Proven experience of working with transactional finance teams, financial operations, financial controls, management accounting and statutory reporting.
• Technical accounting knowledge and evidence of commitment to professional development
• A good standard of Maths and English
• Strong organisational and time management skills
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite

Diversity and Inclusion

Equality, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion are central to the work of City of Portsmouth College. This underpins the vision of the College to transform lives through providing exceptional education and training.

The College's commitment to Equality, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion is reflected in the continued successful promotion of these strands through the curriculum, enrichment activities, and the range of direct and indirect student support services.

Pre-Employment Checks

The City of Portsmouth College is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people in our college. All successful candidates will be subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check and two references.

We reserve the right to close the job advert when we have had successful applications, and it may not run for the full duration of the advert. We do not accept CVs from agencies for these roles.