Head of management accounts

Band 8b · Management accountant · 607 job evaluation points

Heads of management accounts lead the organisation's budgeting, forecasting, and management reporting, and the team of business partners and accountants who deliver it.

Responsibilities

Lead the organisation's annual budget setting and in-year forecasting.
Design management reporting, costing, and performance information for the board and executive.
Set business case and investment appraisal standards, including for digital investment.
Advise directors on financial risks, savings plans, and the choices needed to stay within funding.
Lead and develop the business partnering and management accounts teams.
Improve budgeting and reporting tools, including self-service reporting for budget holders.

Skills

Skill	Expected level	What this level means
Management accountingThis reference	Expert (4)	You can: design the organisation's management reporting and costing approach present financial performance to the board and senior leaders lead the use of cost and performance information to improve value for money set standards for management accounting across the organisation
Financial planning and forecastingThis reference	Expert (4)	You can: lead the organisation's medium-term financial plan align financial plans with strategy, workforce, and investment plans advise the board on financial sustainability and the choices needed to stay within funding set the planning assumptions and methods used across the organisation
Business cases and investment appraisalThis reference	Expert (4)	You can: set the organisation's business case and investment appraisal standards advise investment boards on affordability, value for money, and risk make the case to funders for major investment programmes review the portfolio of investments and recommend where to stop, change, or continue
Public sector financeThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: advise managers on funding rules, including ring-fenced and time-limited funding manage capital and revenue limits for a programme or directorate prepare returns and evidence for funders and spending controls
Finance systemsThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: administer the finance or payroll system, including access, workflows, and reporting design reports and dashboards for budget holders test system changes and upgrades automate repetitive finance tasks
Financial management for digital, data and technologyUK GDaD PCF	Practitioner (3)	Senior leadership skill: the UK GDaD PCF defines it with one statement, not by level. You can: Examples of leadership using this skill: own, manage and optimise budgets across digital, data and technology secure appropriate investment to deliver organisational strategy and priorities negotiate investments in shared technologies across the organisation and across government prioritising competing demands for investment in people, infrastructure and innovation across digital, data and technology to maximise value identifying risk to critical services and influencing stakeholders to increase investment to ensure they are maintained balancing short-term tactical gains with longer-term strategies to ensure value now and in the future
Creating value for moneyUK GDaD PCF	Practitioner (3)	You can: advocate for user needs, ensuring user value is balanced against cost and value for the organisation determine the benefit of a product and persuade others it's the right product to use write or contribute to business cases communicate business-value propositions help others make value-based decisions, influencing the direction of development
Leadership and guidanceUK GDaD PCF	Practitioner (3)	You can: make decisions characterised by medium levels of risk and complexity and recommend decisions as risk and complexity increase build consensus between services or independent stakeholders identify problems or issues in the team dynamic and rectify them engage in varying types of feedback, choosing the right type at the appropriate time and ensuring the discussion and decision stick bring people together to form a motivated team and help create the right environment for a team to work in facilitate the best team makeup depending on the situation
People managementThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: line manage a team, setting objectives and running appraisals support wellbeing and manage attendance, performance, and conduct plan the team's development and succession
Organisational risk managementThis reference	Practitioner (3)	You can: run the risk process for a directorate or programme assess risks against the risk appetite and escalate them report on risks to committees

Typical qualifications and experience

A recognised accountancy qualification, with extensive post-qualification experience, including leading a finance team.

Band 8b outline

Knowledge: Expert knowledge across several disciplines or a large service.
Autonomy: Shapes policy and strategy for a large area.
Scope: Several services or teams, or a principal-level discipline.
Leadership: Manages managers, or is the principal authority in a discipline.
Accountability: Several services, their staff, and their budgets.

Job evaluation (illustrative)

Factor	Level	Level summary	Points
Communication and relationship skills	5	Gives highly complex or contentious information needing developed persuasion and negotiation, presents to large groups, or communicates where there are significant barriers to acceptance.	45
Knowledge, training, and experience	7	Highly developed specialist knowledge across the range of the specialism (master's level or equivalent).	196
Analytical and judgemental skills	5	Judgements on highly complex facts or situations needing analysis, interpretation, and comparison of options.	60
Planning and organisational skills	5	Forms long-term strategic plans, with uncertainty and effects across the organisation.	60
Physical skills	2	Skills gained through practice, such as standard keyboard use or driving.	15
Responsibility for patient and client care	1	Helps patients, clients, or relatives during incidental contact.	4
Responsibility for policy and service development	4	Implements policy and develops policy or services for a service or several areas.	32
Responsibility for financial and physical resources	5	Holds or sets budgets, or manages assets, for several services.	45
Responsibility for people	4	Line manages a function or department, designs training programmes as a main duty, or delivers a full range of HR services.	32
Responsibility for information resources	5	Designs and develops major information systems, or runs information systems for several services as the main duty.	34
Responsibility for research and development	2	Regularly does research, development, trials, or equipment and system testing as part of the job.	12
Freedom to act	5	Works within general policies, and in most cases decides how to interpret them.	45
Physical effort	1	Sitting, standing, and walking, with little physical effort.	3
Mental effort	3	Frequent concentration on unpredictable work, or occasional prolonged concentration.	12
Emotional effort	1	Rare exposure, or occasional indirect exposure, to distressing circumstances.	5
Working conditions	2	Occasional unpleasant conditions, frequent travel or outdoor work, or near-continuous screen use on most days.	7
Total (Band 8b: 585 to 629)			607