An independent and growing professional services firm is looking for an Accounts Associate to join their team. This position is fully office based, Monday-Friday, 9.15am-5.15pm. They are based in the City of London, with a satellite office in Hong Kong. A partner led company focused on people - their team and clients. They combine market leading sector expertise and excellent service capability to provide exceptional service in our chosen markets. The team provide the full complement of outsourced services including management accounting, VAT, payroll, company secretarial, HR consulting and regulatory reporting.
Duties & Responsibilities
Carry out all accounting work for a wide range of corporate and charity organisations in compliance with the firm’s and statutory procedures. This will include planning, executing, completing and producing client-ready product independently and with minimum supervision.
Prepare management accounts and statutory financial reports, including consolidated accounts, from manual and computerised accounting records.
Prepare/review VAT Returns, including an understanding of partial exemption rules.
Delegate, supervise and review the work of junior members of the team, providing constructive feedback and support as necessary.
Provide general accounting services and assistance to clients in the preparation of accounts and VAT returns, for example preparing working papers for management or statutory accounts.
Recommend improvements to clients’ accounting systems and controls and assist clients whenever needed.
Keep Managers and Partners (where necessary) informed of the progress on the team’s jobs.
Understand the specification of the assignment agreed with the client and report immediately to the Manager (or Partner) if and when this specification may need to be changed.
Be able to take ownership of an assignment and see it through to completion with the willingness to solve issues as and when they arise.
Take ownership of communicating with clients, developing and building strong client relationships.
Keep costs within budget wherever possible and report to the Manager/Partner as soon as agreed time/budget appears to be compromised.
Skills & Experience
3 A-levels (or equivalent - with a minimum of 120 UCAS points)
Good GCSE results with a minimum of grade B/level 5 in GCSE Maths and English (or equivalent)
Experience of working within practice with a of minimum 3 + years
Experience of preparing statutory and management accounts
Experience with VAT registrations and preparation of VAT returns
Excellent communication skills
Client facing experience
AAT qualified or ACCA part qualified, or equivalent
Knowledge of UK GAAP, specifically an understanding of FRS102 and FRS105
Experience with QuickBooks Online and Xero
Ideally experience in implementation of Cloud based accounting software
MS Office including Excel, Word, and Outlook
Accounting software knowledge and experience - Sage, QuickBooks Online or Xero (desirable)
Knowledge and experience with other accounting add-ons (compatible with Cloud accounting software, for example, Dext, FUTRLI, Fathom and Expensify).
Advanced Excel skills (desirable)
Professional attitude & good work ethic; self motivated and pro-active; multi-tasker; able to work to deadlines and under pressure within time budgets
Display ethical judgement
Ability to thrive in a team environment
Benefits include:
22 days annual leave plus public holidays. This increases to a maximum of 27 days based on length of service.
Pension scheme
Salary sacrifice scheme for childcare
Cover costs of standard eye tests and contribute up to £60 of the cost of glasses required for computer use.
Offer both health assessments and GP appointments through BUPA
Interest free season ticket loans
Development opportunities