Accountant

Hollybank Trustees Ltd; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 45,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Auto enrolment Pension Scheme

Death in Service

Professional membership support

Paycare for health claims

Dress for your Diary Policy

Job summary

Affinia, a leading accountancy firm in the UK, is seeking an Accountant to manage client portfolios and ensure accurate bookkeeping and VAT compliance. The role involves preparing VAT returns and maintaining strong relationships with clients.

Successful candidates will demonstrate strong organisational skills, proficiency in Xero, and effective communication abilities. Benefits include a flexible work environment and professional membership support, contributing to a culture of ambition and

Qualifications

• AAT qualified or studying towards AAT, or equivalent practical experience.
• Strong understanding of bookkeeping and double-entry principles.
• Experience preparing VAT returns and account reconciliations.
• Strong organisational and time management skills.

Responsibilities

• Manage a portfolio of clients across various industries.
• Ensure accurate bookkeeping and VAT compliance.
• Prepare and submit VAT returns and reconciliations.
• Build trusted client relationships and manage expectations.

Skills

Client relationship management

Bookkeeping principles

VAT preparation

Xero

Excel proficiency

Education

AAT qualified or equivalent

Tools

Xero

Dext

Hubdoc

Mimo

Job description

Location: Hybrid / Cambridge, UK
job type: Permanent / Full-time
Sector and subsector: Accounting & Finance | Accounts Payable
Salary: Negotiable salary

Affinia is the UK’s largest purpose‑led, purpose‑built Accountancy firm, focused on building stronger, more valuable relationships. With over 1,000 colleagues across the East, South East, London and the Midlands, we are dedicated to supporting our clients, colleagues and communities.

We advise businesses, public sector organisations, charities and individuals throughout the UK and internationally across six Service Lines - Accountancy & Advisory, Tax and Planning, Audit & Assurance, Corporate Finance, Payroll and Corporate Recovery. Our team also offer in‑depth sector expertise across a number of sectors, ensuring our clientsreceive the best short to medium and long‑term advice, tailored to them. We are committed to delivering excellence in every aspect of our work, adapting to the evolving technology and regulatory landscape while consistently exceeding client expectations.

Our people are our most valuable asset. We are therefore committed to supporting our colleagues throughout their professional development, providing guidance and training at whatever stage of their career they join us.

Purpose of the role:

The Accountant is responsible for managing a portfolio of clients, ensuring accurate and timely bookkeeping, VAT compliance, reconciliations, month‑end processing and year‑end preparation. The role plays a key part in delivering Green & Purple's Virtual Finance Office service by providing reliable financial information, maintaining strong client relationships and supporting the wider team in delivering exceptional client service.

The Accountant will work closely with Management Accountants and Financial Controllers to ensure client work is completed to a high standard, deadlines are met, and opportunities for improvement are identified and implemented.

• Manage a portfolio of clients across a variety of industries.
• Take ownership of day‑to‑day financial processing and bookkeeping requirements.
• Build strong relationships with clients and become a trusted point of contact.
• Understand each client's business, objectives and operational requirements.
• Ensure work is delivered within agreed deadlines and budgets.
• Escalate issues, risks and opportunities appropriately.
• Process purchase invoices, sales invoices, bank transactions and journals accurately and efficiently.
• Maintain accurate accounting records within cloud accounting systems.
• Ensure transactions are coded correctly and consistently.
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency through automation and process improvements.
• Support the onboarding of new clients and implementation of systems.

Bank & Balance Sheet Reconciliations

• Complete bank reconciliations promptly and accurately.
• Investigate and resolve reconciling items.
• Reconcile balance sheet control accounts including VAT, PAYE, debtors, creditors, accruals, prepayments, fixed assets and director loan accounts.
• Maintain clear audit trails and supporting documentation.

VAT Compliance

• Prepare and submit VAT returns.
• Ensure appropriate VAT treatment is applied to transactions.
• Maintain awareness of changes in VAT legislation.
• Identify potential VAT issues and escalated where necessary.

Month-End & Year-End Support

• Prepare journals including accruals, prepayments, depreciation and payroll.
• Assist with month‑end close procedures.
• Prepare reconciled trial balances and working papers.
• Support the year‑end accounts preparation process.
• Liaise with compliance teams to ensure smooth year‑end delivery.

Client Communication & Relationship Management

• Respond to client queries in a professional and timely manner.
• Attend client meetings where appropriate.
• Build trusted relationships through excellent communication and service.
• Manage expectations around deadlines and information requirements.
• Identify opportunities to provide additional value to clients.

Technology & Process Improvement

• Utilise Green & Purple's technology stack effectively, including Xero, Dext, Hubdoc, Mimo, Excel and AI tools.
• Maintain strong Excel skills including pivot tables, lookup functions, data analysis and reporting.
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency and reduce manual processing.

Qualifications & Experience:

• AAT qualified, studying towards AAT, or equivalent practical experience.
• Strong understanding of bookkeeping and double‑entry principles.
• Experience preparing VAT returns and account reconciliations.
• Experience using cloud accounting software.
• Strong organisational and time management skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience working within an accountancy practice or outsourced finance function.
• Experience working with automation and AI tools.

What Success Looks Like

• Take ownership of a client portfolio.
• Deliver work accurately and on time with minimal review points.
• Build strong client relationships and trust.
• Meet internal delivery and utilisation targets.

Demonstrate continuous development of technical knowledge.

Embrace technology and identify efficiencies.

Contribute positively to team culture and business growth.

Progress towards Management Accountant capability and responsibilities.

Core Culture & Benefits:

At Affinia, our culture is driven by ambition and a commitment to positively impact all the communities we serve. We are dedicated to the success, development, and wellbeing of our colleagues, helping them achieve their goals and seize the opportunities that come with our growth. Alongside a flexible and inclusive work environment, we offer the following core benefits:

• Auto enrolment Pension Scheme with True Potential
• Death in Service
• Professional membership support
• Paycare – claim money back for Dental / Optical / Professional Therapies
• Dress for your Diary Policy

Please note that this job profile is not an exhaustive list of duties but merely an outline of the key components of the role. You may be required by your line manager to take on additional responsibilities when requested.

Affinia is committed to being an Equal Opportunity Employer. Our policy is unequivocal: we do not tolerate discrimination based on age, disability, sex, race, religion, or belief, gender re‑assignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy, or maternity, or sexual orientation. We pride ourselves on being an inclusive organisation that actively promotes equality of opportunity for all, valuing the right mix of talent, skills, and potential. We welcome applications from a diverse range of candidates, and selection for roles is based solely on individual merit.