Assistant Corporate Accountant x2
Sandwell Council are once again partnering with Robertson Bell in the recruitment of two Assistant Corporate Accountants on a permanent basis. These roles sit within the corporate finance team, supporting the delivery of high-quality financial reporting, technical accounting and statutory returns across the Council.
The roles will focus on in Technical and Capital Accounting and be key members in the production of the statement of accounts and audit process, with one of the roles specialising in VAT, offering excellent opportunities to develop expertise in these key areas.
The organisation:
Sandwell is a metropolitan borough in the Black Country, which is made up of six towns – Oldbury, Rowley Regis, Smethwick, Tipton, Wednesbury and West Bromwich.
Located in the West Midlands, Sandwell borders Birmingham city, Dudley borough, Walsall borough and Wolverhampton city. The borough has excellent access to the national motorway network with five junctions feeding in to the M5 and M6 motorways serving the South West, South East and North West regions of the UK.
Sandwell also benefits from a mainline train station – Sandwell and Dudley and the Midland Metro. The borough has 1,200 hectares of parks, playing fields and local green space, and over 30 miles of canals.
The roles:
- Play a key role in delivering the annual statement of accounts, ensuring accuracy and compliance with statutory deadlines
- Lead on technical and capital accounting entries, applying relevant regulations and best practice
- Partner with stakeholders across the Council to provide clear financial advice, insight and support
- Act as a main point of contact for internal and external audit, ensuring queries are resolved efficiently
- Take ownership of balance sheet reconciliations, maintaining strong financial controls and integrity
- Develop robust financial models and deliver statutory returns, including VAT submissions
- Support and mentor junior team members, contributing to a high-performing finance function
- For the VAT-focused role: prepare and review VAT returns, ensuring accuracy of ledger data and identifying discrepancies where postings are incorrect
- For the Capital-focused role: maintain the fixed asset register, ensuring correct asset classification, accurate depreciation, and year-end balance sheet integrity
The successful candidates will have:
- AAT Level 4 (or equivalent) or part-qualified status with a recognised accounting body
- Proven experience within a finance environment, ideally within the public sector
- Strong technical accounting knowledge, with the ability to apply this in a practical setting
- Experience using financial systems such as Oracle, alongside advanced Excel skills
- Confidence in communicating complex financial information to non-finance stakeholders and senior managers
- Exposure to VAT and/or capital accounting, which would be highly advantageous
The closing date for applications is 5th April, with interviews due to take place the week commencing 13th April. Applications will be under continuous review before the closing date, so please submit your CV to our exclusive search agent Robertson Bell as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
