Associate Accountant

Wood PLC; Scotland; Hybrid; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A global engineering firm is seeking an Associate Accountant in Aberdeen. This hybrid position involves ensuring accurate accounting, reporting key financial data, and supporting contract management. Ideal candidates should have a recognized accounting qualification or relevant experience. We offer competitive salaries, flexible working arrangements, and commitment to diversity.

Benefits

33 days annual leave

Generous pension scheme

Private medical cover

Commitment to professional development

Qualifications

• Relevant accounting experience required.
• Strong verbal and written skills for report writing.
• Ability to meet deadlines without compromising accuracy.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for month-end close activities and accurate reporting.
• Prepare monthly management accounts with variance analysis.
• Ensure compliance with company policies and procedures.

Skills

Excellent communication skills

Proficient in Excel

Customer focused

Strong attention to detail

Education

Recognised accounting qualification or actively studying towards one (ACCA / CIMA)

Tools

ERP/forecasting systems

Job description

Job Description

Remarkable people, trusted by clients to design and advance the world.

Wood is recruiting for an Associate Accountant to join the Operations team in Aberdeen. This is a permanent position, hybrid working arrangements available.

The Role

To ensure accurate accounting, reconciliation and reporting of key financial data to enable the business to monitor performance, drive improvement, collect cash and ensure governance across a collection of key client contracts.

What we can offer

• Meaningful and interesting projects delivered to leaders of industry across upstream operations and emerging energy sector
• Flexible working arrangements that balance client, team and individual needs offering hybrid and remote working where relevant
• Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion; we are an organisation actively committed to diversity and inclusion across our business
• Competitive salary with regular salary reviews to ensure we are rewarding at the right level in line with the market
• Flexible benefits package; inclusive of 33 days annual leave (including public holidays), generous contributory pension scheme, private medical cover, 4x base salary life insurance; all of these and more that can be adapted to suit your own lifestyle
• Commitment to continued professional development; development plans that are tailored to your individual needs and interests
• Global connections: join experts around the world who are at the leading edge of our industry, shaping the standards of our profession.

Responsibilities

Typical Responsibilities:

• Directly responsible for month end close activities in internal system to ensure results are accurately reported and analysed for a selection of contracts. This includes calculation of accruals, unbilled and unearned entries as required in compliance with Wood corporate deadlines, technical accounting standards, and in accordance with company procedures for reconciliations and balance sheet controls.
• Preparation of monthly management accounts covering P&L to Gross Margin level including reimbursable labour, recovered in rate costs, lump sums, procurement, plant & equipment, plus other reimbursable, non-reimbursable and contract specific items.
• Provision of clear and concise variance analysis of actual monthly results compared to budget/forecast to help support contract management to understand and act upon financial results.
• Balance sheet responsibility for unbilled, unearned, accounts receivable and accruals to ensure accurate reporting, aging and improvement actions.
• Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) - reporting, analysis and supporting improvement.
• Provision of financial information as required by the business including Project Governance Reporting, HSE manhours and others as required.
• Presentation of monthly results to Contract Manager / Finance Business Partner.
• Undertake control checks on invoices produced by DFSS billing in conjunction with commercial team ahead of submission to client and provide guidance to DFSS billing team on any non-routine invoicing requirements that occur i.e changes in workforce terms in conditions, contract T&Cs amendment; employee legislation changes that impact charge rates.
• Preparation and analysis of annual Budget, Mid-Year Forecast and monthly Rolling Forecasts for collection of contracts in conjunction with Contract/Delivery Managers and Commercial teams for minimum rolling 12 months.
• Provide clear and concise variance analysis on forecasts, tracking reasons for movement in Revenue / Gross Margin compared to budget/latest forecast. Maintenance of a risks/opportunities schedule to support latest forecast.
• Preparation of contracts cash flow forecast (rolling 13 week lookahead), active monitoring of payments, escalating issues to Contract / Delivery Managers & Finance Business Partners as applicable.
• Review and act on findings from labour/non-labour reconciliations on a monthly basis to ensure corrective actions can be taken in a timely manner and share findings with function to assist others.
• Review and challenge aged unbilled reports and support contracts to rectify any issues.
• Responsible for identifying and highlighting opportunities for continuous improvement within the contracts and sharing of best practice within the function.
• Liaising with external, internal and client auditors.
• Ensure compliance with all Wood policies including accounting, credit risk and code of conduct.
• Execution of various ad hoc tasks as and when requested by Finance Lead, Contract / Delivery Managers or Finance Business Partners/Senior Finance Managers.

Qualifications

What makes you remarkable? At Wood, we are committed to equal opportunities and welcome all talented individuals to consider joining our team. So even if you don't match every statement below but feel you have some of the experience, knowledge or skills needed for this role, we encourage you to apply. It will take all of us working together to deliver solutions to the world's most critical challenges.

Qualifications:

• Recognised accounting qualification or part qualified and actively studying towards professional qualification (ACCA / CIMA etc)
• Will also consider those qualified by experience

Knowledge & Experience:

• Relevant accounting experience
• Proficient user of Excel
• Good commercial knowledge and understanding of contract commercials to appreciate rate build-ups and recovery of costs to ensure maximisation of cash position
• Competent at using ERP/ forecasting systems

Job-Specific Skills:

• Strong verbal and written communication skills for effective report writing and to support communication of financial information to non-finance people
• Strong interpersonal skills to be able to liaise with people on the contract; be seen as a trusted business partner within the organisation
• Ability to discuss issues clearly and concisely at all levels within the organisation.
• Customer focussed - internally and externally
• Highly organised and ability to prioritise tasks
• Must be able to meet deadlines every time without compromising accuracy
• Attention to detail is critical
• Must be adept at working as part of a team as well as have the ability to manage own workloads
• Strong ethical values and communicates with openness and honesty

About Us

Wood is a global leader in consulting and engineering, helping to unlock solutions to critical challenges in energy and materials markets. We provide consulting, projects and operations solutions in 60 countries, employing around 35,000 people. www.woodplc.com

Diversity Statement

We are an equal opportunity employer that recognises the value of a diverse workforce. All suitably qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment on the basis of objective criteria and without regard to the following (which is a non-exhaustive list): race, colour, age, religion, gender, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status, or other characteristics in accordance with the relevant governing laws.