Research Economist - 12 Months FTC

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) mission is to serve the public interest by setting high standards of corporate governance, reporting and audit and holding to account those responsible for delivering them. We are the UK Competent Authority for audit. We also set the UK Corporate Governance and Stewardship Codes as well as UK standards for accounting, auditing and actuarial work, and monitor and take action to promote the quality of corporate reporting and operate independent enforcement arrangements for accountants and actuaries. Further information about our role can be found at www.frc.org.uk. The FRC provides operational support to the UK Endorsement Board, including a dedicated Secretariat function.

The UK Endorsement Board (UKEB) (www.endorsement-board.uk ) was established by the UK Government to take forward the work of influencing the development of international accounting standards. Key aspects of the work of the UKEB are to influence and contribute to the development of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Accounting Standards, assessing them for adoption in the UK and ensuring that they are fit for purpose for use by UK companies. This role provides an exciting opportunity to be part of the team that supports the work of the UKEB to assess IFRS accounting standard for application by UK entities, influence their development and undertake thought-leadership activities to contribute to the international development of financial reporting.

The UKEB adheres to the guiding principles of transparency, accountability, independence and thought leadership in all its activities.

The Role

The role will contribute to:

• Assessments of costs and benefits to business and wider economic effects associated with the adoption of international accounting standards in the UK.
• Research on the economics of financial reporting.

Key accountabilities for the role involve supporting the Economics Team Leader in conducting:

• Costs and benefits analysis associated with the adoption of accounting standards in line with project timelines. This would entail:
• Conducting desk-based research
• Applying an in-house methodology to calculate capital market effects associated with the adoption of accounting standards
• Drafting questionnaires, distributing surveys, and conducting 1-2-1 interviews aimed at collecting data for costs/benefits assessments
• Analysing the data and applying in-house models to monetise implementation costs
• Research on topics in financial economics associated with financial reporting. This would entail:
• Conducting desk-based research
• Drafting questionnaires and conducting interviews aimed at collecting data
• Develop simple economic modelling

The Person

The post holder is required to have a master’s degree in economics or finance. A minimum of two years of relevant work experience in industry, obtained post masters degree graduation, (e.g. consulting, government, NGOs) is necessary for the role.

The ideal candidate will have:

• Expertise in financial economics, with a thorough understanding of capital markets. Knowledge of financial reporting would be considered an advantage.
• Good written and verbal communication skills. Well-developed writing skills (such as papers, research reports) are an essential skill. Non-academic writing skills (such as briefings, board papers, reports written in plain English) would be considered an advantage.
• Ability to work as part of a team and deliver to tight deadlines (essential).
• Experience with stakeholder interviews is considered highly desirable
• Experience with, or at least an understanding of, cost and benefits analysis.
• Experience conducting surveys and administering questionnaires would be considered an advantage