Assistant Accountant (Financial Accounts)

Sellick Partnership; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 23,000 - 38,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work arrangement

Job summary

Sellick Partnership in Birmingham is seeking an Assistant Accountant (Financial Accounts) on a fixed-term contract until December 2027. The role focuses on financial control, month-end reporting, reconciliations and audits for a public sector function.

The ideal candidate will have extensive financial accounting experience, ERP/Oracle exposure, and strong Excel skills (VLOOKUP, PivotTables). Hybrid role with one in-office day per week and a salary up to £38,486 per annum.

Qualifications

• Experience in public sector financial accounting and month-end processes.
• Strong balance sheet accounting understanding and reconciliations.
• Proficiency with ERP/finance systems, ideally Oracle.
• Advanced Excel skills including VLOOKUPs and PivotTables.

Responsibilities

• Support month-end accounting processes, including journals, prepayments and period close activities.
• Perform balance sheet, control account, accounts payable and accounts receivable reconciliations.
• Maintain fixed asset and lease records with accurate balances.
• Assist with VAT, tax, statutory and other financial returns.
• Assist in preparing financial statements and information for audit.
• Collaborate with internal and external auditors to provide information and resolve queries.
• Support payables, receivables and employee expense processes.
• Support maintenance of the finance system and identify improvements in controls.
• Assist with wider government accounting requirements and support the Finance team.

Skills

Public sector experience

Financial accounting

Month-end close

Reconciliations

ERP systems

Oracle experience

Excel

PivotTables

VLOOKUPs

Attention to detail

Education

AAT qualification or equivalent

Job description

Role Title: Assistant Accountant (Financial Accounts)
Type: Fixed-Term Contract until December 2027
Salary: Up to £38,486 per annum
Hybrid: 1 day per week in the office
Location: Birmingham

This is an excellent opportunity for a finance professional with a strong financial accounting background to join a well-established Finance function. The successful candidate will support a broad range of financial control and accounting activities, with particular emphasis on month-end processes, reconciliations, balance sheet accounting, financial reporting and audit.

The role would suit someone who enjoys working across a varied finance function and has a genuine interest in working within the public sector. While forecasting experience is useful, the team are particularly keen to speak with candidates who have strong hands‑on experience across financial accounting, balance sheet reconciliations and financial control.

The responsibilities of the Assistant Accountant will be:

• Supporting month-end accounting processes, including journals, prepayments and period close activities.
• Completing a range of balance sheet, control account, accounts payable and accounts receivable reconciliations.
• Supporting the maintenance of fixed asset and lease records, ensuring balances are accurate and up to date.
• Assisting with VAT, tax, statutory and other financial returns.
• Supporting the preparation of financial statements and information required for audit.
• Working with internal and external auditors to provide supporting information and resolve queries.
• Supporting accounts payable, accounts receivable and employee expense processes.
• Assisting with the maintenance of the finance system and identifying opportunities to improve financial controls and processes.
• Supporting wider government accounting requirements and providing assistance to the wider Finance team as required.

The ideal candidate for the Assistant Accountant role will have:

• Previous experience working within a Public Sector organisation.
• Extensive experience working within a financial accounting environment, ideally with strong exposure to month-end and reconciliations.
• A good understanding of balance sheet accounting and experience reconciling accounts using an ERP or finance system.
• Strong Excel skills, including VLOOKUPs and PivotTables, with a high level of numerical accuracy and attention to detail.
• AAT qualification or equivalent finance/accounting qualification or degree.
• Experience using finance or ERP systems, with Oracle experience being advantageous.
• Experience supporting financial statements, audit activity and financial controls.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to explain financial information clearly to non-finance stakeholders.

Sellick Partnership is proud to be an inclusive and accessible recruitment business and we support applications from candidates of all backgrounds and circumstances. Please note, our advertisements use years' experience, hourly rates, and salary levels purely as a guide and we assess applications based on the experience and skills evidenced on the CV. For information on how your personal details may be used by Sellick Partnership, please review our data processing notice on our website.