Overview
Advisory Accountant (Qualified) – Belfast
About the job
Job summary
Discover a career in your hands at HMRC. Whether you’re seeking purpose, growth, or a workplace that gives you a true sense of belonging, hear from some of our employees as they share their story about what it’s really like to work at HMRC.
Visit our YouTube channel to watch the full series and come and discover your potential.
HMRC are the UK’s tax, payments, and customs authority. Our vital purpose is to collect the money that pays for the UK’s public services. We help families and individuals with targeted financial support. Being impartial and increasingly effective and efficient in our administration, we help the honest majority to get their tax right and make it hard for the dishonest minority to cheat the system.
We commit to being professional, acting with integrity, showing respect and being innovative. We take real pride in making HMRC a great place to work, investing in our employees’ skills and career development, creating modern, state-of-the-art facilities, and offering a range of flexible working patterns and benefits.
We want everyone to feel valued, supported, and comfortable being their true self at work. We are proud to be a diverse and inclusive employer, supporting social mobility giving opportunities to people no matter what their background. We have several staff diversity networks that cover race, disability, LGBTQ, gender, and carers.
You’ll be able join any of these networks when you join us and getting involved is easy.
We’ll give you the support you need to grow in confidence, help you enjoy your time inside and outside the workplace ensuring you have a good work-life balance. We believe that we are a great place to work.
Job description
About the Role
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 work, actual flexitime 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 has real impacts on Government tax policy decisions and makes a huge difference to the nation’s finances.
Our team of 150 accountants support HMRC’s 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 Big 4 Practice and financial accountants in industry.
We are expanding and looking for 7 accountants to join one of our two teams.
About the Teams
Commissioners’ Advisory Accountant Team (Legal Group)
The Commissioners’ Advisory Accountant (CAA) is accountable for all accountancy advice to Tribunals and Courts and to HMRC policy units, and for the quality of advice given by Advisory and Forensic Accountants in operational directorates to HMRC officers in those operational directorates.
The CAA is supported by the CAA team which is responsible for providing accountancy advice in litigation and policy matters, and for the delivery of a high-quality accountancy service throughout HMRC. Its work impacts on most parts of the Department and HMRC customers. The team also represents HMRC with external professional bodies such as the ICAEW, ICAS and ACCA.
Customer Compliance Group
The Customer Compliance Group (CCG) brings all our compliance customer segment directorates into one group: Large Business, Wealthy and Mid-sized Businesses, Individuals and Small Businesses.
The group also includes several teams who work across business segments such as Fraud Investigation Service (FIS), Counter Avoidance (CA) and Risk & Intelligent 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.
Responsibilities
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.
- 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.
- You will prepare and review professional reports that contain factual or opinion evidence, attend case conferences, meetings and court 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 mentor colleagues alongside sharing 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.
Person specification
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:
- Analysing and interpreting financial records;
- Preparing or reviewing financial statements; and
- Considering the appropriate accounting treatment of a variety of specific transactions.
Alongside:
• 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; and
• Commercial knowledge and an understanding of how businesses operate including accounting systems.
Essential Criteria
You must already have full and complete qualification from, and continuing membership of, one of the following professional accounting bodies:
Qualifications
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)
Please Note: Part qualified accountants are not eligible for these posts.
Behaviours
We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivering at Pace
Technical skills
We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- The interview will include an accountancy based technical test (to include both a presentation and a written output).
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £56,344, HM Revenue and Customs contributes £16,322 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
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
At this initial sift stage, we are assessing your experience. Your application will comprise of a name blind CV tailored to the role advertised, detailing your job history and including for each role the relevant experience, matching the Responsibilities and Person Specification part of the advert. Use the below format:
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.
Qualifications: List all relevant qualifications required for the role as outlined in the job advert and criteria.
Application Tips: anonymising your CV
When giving details in your CV, you should be explicit in highlighting your experience to address all of the person specification requirements listed in the advert. You should therefore include details of the work you have been involved in and the roles you played.
Your CV will be scored against the responsibilities and person specification requirements outlined in the advert.
We acknowledge that AI can assist you in your application. Find our guidelines here.
Important information
If your CV contains any personal details (such as your name or contact details) your application will be withdrawn.
Your CV should be no more than a total of 1,250 words.
You do not need to include references in your CV.
Your CV should be clear, concise and easily digestible to the reader.
Interview process
This will include:
• An accountancy based technical assessment (to include both a presentation and a written output).
Further details will be provided in advance.
Current or former members of the HMRC Advisory and Forensic Accountants Profession may be exempt from the technical assessment, see Note 1 below for further details. Only candidates who pass the technical assessment, or who have a valid exemption, will be invited to a panel interview.
• A panel interview following the Success Profiles Framework used for all Civil Service recruitment, comprising the following:
– Questions seeking examples of the selected behaviours ‘Communicating and Influencing’ and ‘Delivering at Pace’; and
– Experience questions to understand your suitability for the role advertised.
Full details will be provided to those candidates invited to interview.
The technical assessment and panel interview will be held via Teams video call. Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.
Note 1 – Technical Assessment Exemption Criteria
You may be eligible for an exemption from sitting a technical assessment as part of the interview process for this post if you demonstrate you fulfil one of the following criteria:
1) You are a current member of the HMRC Advisory and Forensic Accountants (AFA) Profession and previously passed the technical assessment at Grade 7 level or in any campaign after 1 January 2024.
2) You were, within the last 3 years (from the closing date of the advert you are applying for) a member of the HMRC AFA Profession and previously passed the technical assessment at Grade 7 level or after 1 January 2024.
3) You successfully passed the Grade 7 technical assessment in the last 3 years (or any AFA technical assessment after 1 January 2024) as part of a previous HMRC AFA recruitment campaign. You should submit proof that you previously passed the technical assessment, this may be in the form of written interview feedback you received or confirmation information from Civil Service Jobs.
All applicants that believe they are exempt must complete the attached technical exemption form and send to investigationservicesrecruitment@hmrc.gov.uk once you submit your application on Civil Service Jobs. Please quote “399012” in your email title. Please provide your candidate ID, NOT your name. You should not include any identifying details, i.e. name, contact details or address.
We reserve the right to raise the score required at any stage of the process to manage numbers.
Eligibility
Please take extra care to tick the correct boxes in the eligibility sections of your application form. We understand mistakes sometimes happen but if you contact us later than two working days(Monday-Friday) before the vacancy closes, we will not be able to reopen your application for you. If you do make a mistake with your eligibility form, please contact us via:
unitybusinessservicesrecruitmentresults@hmrc.gov.uk – 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.
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.
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 unitybusinessservicesrecruitmentresults@hmrc.gov.uk 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.
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.
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.
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).
