Assistant Accountant

Headstar; England; On-site; GBP 33,000 - 35,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Life insurance

Company pension

Medicash healthcare cash plan

26 days annual leave + 8 bank holidays

Job summary

Headstar is seeking an Assistant Accountant for a varied role in an international business. You will work with the Accountant, handling both transactional and management accounting tasks and developing technical accounting knowledge through active involvement in diverse finance activities.

You’ll contribute to monthly management accounts, budgeting, intercompany reconciliations and statutory schedules while maintaining high accuracy and deadlines in a busy team.

Qualifications

• Strong Excel skills and confidence working with financial data.
• Good attention to detail and the confidence to question things when they don’t look right.
• Ability to manage workload and meet deadlines.
• Willingness to get involved in different areas of finance beyond a narrow set of tasks.
• AAT studies would be useful, but relevant experience is important.

Responsibilities

• Assist with monthly management accounts and Group reporting.
• Analyze overheads, variances, accruals and prepayments.
• Support budgeting and forecasting processes.
• Assist with statutory accounts, audit schedules and VAT returns.
• Manage elements of sales and purchase ledgers, including invoice processing and payments.
• Handle credit control and chase outstanding debts.
• Reconcile intercompany balances within the Group.
• Prepare payment runs and bank reconciliations.
• Collaborate with colleagues to resolve queries and keep processes smooth.

Skills

Excel skills

Attention to detail

Deadline driven

Self-management

Question data when things don’t look

Willingness to get involved across the

Education

AAT studies appreciated

Job description

Some Assistant Accountant roles are little more than purchase ledger jobs with a better title, but his isn't one of them.

This is a varied role within an international business, offering exposure to management accounts, budgeting, credit control and the day-to-day running of a busy finance function.

You'll work closely with the Accountant, taking responsibility for your own workload while getting involved in areas that will help develop your technical accounting knowledge.

What will you be doing?

• Assisting with the preparation of monthly management accounts and reporting to Group.
• Analysing overheads, investigating variances and calculating accruals and prepayments.
• Supporting the annual budgeting and forecasting process.
• Assisting with statutory accounts, audit schedules and VAT returns.
• Managing elements of the sales and purchase ledgers, including invoice processing, payments and reconciliations.
• Taking responsibility for credit control, chasing outstanding debts and resolving customer queries.
• Reconciling intercompany balances and dealing with transactions across the wider Group.
• Preparing payment runs, processing expenses and completing bank reconciliations.
• Working with colleagues across the business to resolve queries and keep things running smoothly.

What do you need?

• Previous experience in an Accounts Assistant, Assistant Accountant or similar finance role.
• A good understanding of transactional accounting, ideally with some exposure to month-end processes.
• Strong Excel skills and confidence working with financial data.
• Someone who's comfortable managing their own workload and working to deadlines.
• Good attention to detail and the confidence to question things when they don't look right.
• A willingness to get involved in different areas of finance rather than sticking to a narrow set of responsibilities.
• AAT studies would be useful, but relevant experience is just as important.

What's in it for you?

• £33,000 - £35,000 depending on experience.
• Monday to Friday, 9am - 5pm (37.5 hours per week, with a 30-minute lunch break).
• 26 days' annual leave plus 8 bank holidays.
• Life insurance.
• Company pension.
• Medicash healthcare cash plan.

The appeal here is the variety. You'll get exposure to both management accounting and transactional finance, working within a business that's large enough to offer some complexity without being so big that you're confined to one small part of the accounts.

There's plenty to get involved in, and it's the sort of position that could suit someone looking to move beyond a purely transactional role and develop into a more rounded accountant.

If that sounds like the sort of move you're looking for, get in touch