Accounts Associate

Client

Independent and growing professional services firm, an Accountancy practice, based in the City of London.

Position is based in the Business Services team, providing business support to customers including management accounting, payroll, VAT, consulting and reporting.

The Role

To provide quality accounting services to clients within the Outsourcing Team.

To include: -

• 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.

Candidate background

• 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

IT Skills

• 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)

Behaviours

• Able to take on responsibility; personable; conscientious; 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
• Flexible in your approach