Client Accounting Assistant

DMH Stallard LLP; Gatwick; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 30,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days holiday

Private Healthcare

Pension Scheme

Employee Assistance Programme

Cycle to work scheme

Sodexo Discounts

Job summary

DMH Stallard LLP is seeking a Client Accounting Assistant to join the team and oversee client matter financials, including recording transactions, timekeeping, disbursements, and billing. The role supports the firm’s finance function and interacts with fee earners to maximise efficient recovery.

You will work within a collaborative environment committed to learning and leadership development, including plans for internal mentoring and hybrid working. ご了承下さい。

Qualifications

• High level of accuracy and numeracy.
• Well organised with good time management and able to work under pressure to deadlines.
• Pro-active approach to problem solving.
• Good IT skills, including basic level Excel skills
• Ability to build good working relationships.
• Ideally studying towards the Institute of Legal Finance & Management Diploma qualification.

Responsibilities

• Managing all financial transactions and balances on client matters.
• Time recording and adjustments as needed.
• Disbursements management in the purchase ledger.
• Billing accuracy and supporting fee earners to maximise recovery.
• Maintaining WIP, disbursements and client balances in a timely manner.
• Ensuring compliance with SRA Accounts Rules and VAT regulations.

Skills

Numeracy

Accuracy

Time management

Proactive problem solving

Relationship building

IT skills (basic Excel)

Education

Institute of Legal Finance & Management Diploma (in progress)

Tools

Excel

Job description

The firm

DMH Stallard provides a comprehensive range of commercial, dispute resolution and litigation, employment, cyber security and cyber-crime, corporate, intellectual property, real estate and technology, media and telecoms advice to both businesses and individuals. Our clients, our people and our professional networks are the keys to our success.. With offices in London and across the region, including Brighton, Gatwick, Guildford, Horsham and Hassocks - we’re proud to have grown to around 400 people.

The firm

DMH Stallard provides a comprehensive range of commercial, dispute resolution and litigation, employment, cyber security and cyber-crime, corporate, intellectual property, real estate and technology, media and telecoms advice to both businesses and individuals. Our clients, our people and our professional networks are the keys to our success.. With offices in London and across the region, including Brighton, Gatwick, Guildford, Horsham and Hassocks - we’re proud to have grown to around 400 people.

Culture really matters to us. In our most recent staff survey, 99.6% of our people said DMH is a great place to work, with 90% feeling they have a strong work-life balance, and 93.9% expressing confidence in the leadership team.

We’re committed to building a genuinely inclusive and supportive workplace. Our Women in Law group meets quarterly, and we’re actively working toward gender balance at all levels. We already exceed the industry average, with 40% of our partners being women compared to the sector average at 29%.

We actively invest in learning and development at all career stages. Our mentoring programme is available to all partners, and we are preparing to launch an internal mentoring programme to support progression right up to partnership. We also recognise that work-life balance is essential to long-term success and wellbeing, and we promote hybrid working arrangements to help our people perform at their best inside and outside of work.

We’re also especially proud to achieve gold accreditation from Investors in People, which reflects our strong commitment to people development and leadership.

The department

Job Overview

Together with the other Client Accounting Assistants undertaking the more junior responsibilities and duties of the client accounting team, for example by taking responsibility of those practice groups with less complicated financials on their client matters.

Client Accounting Team Responsibilities And Duties

• Management of all the financial transactions and balances on client matters (except for those which are the specific responsibility of the cashiering or credit control teams).
• Time recording – Ensuring that time is being recorded on a timely and accurate basis, and making any necessary adjustments.
• Disbursements – Management of the firm’s disbursement purchase ledger including ensuring that disbursements are recorded on an accurate and timely basis, and payments are made in accordance with the firm’s policies.
• Billing – Ensuring that bills are generated on an accurate and timely basis, and fee earners are helped to maximise recovery rates.
• Matter housekeeping – working with department / group heads and individual fee earners to ensure:
• Work in progress and disbursements are billed on as timely a basis as possible.
• Irrecoverable work in progress and disbursements are written off without undue delay.
• Client balances are cleared as soon as possible and client money is not held after the reason for doing so has ceased.
• Client matters are closed as soon as possible after they are finished.
• Ensuring accurate and timely transfers as necessary both between office and client accounts, and between client matters
• Ensuring compliance with the SRA Accounts Rules
• Ensuring compliance with VAT regulations in respect of client billing and the disbursement purchase ledger
• Calculation of amounts due to consultants.
• Management of records of undertakings given to other firms of solicitors
• Provision of components of the firm’s management information.
• Minimisation of the risk of financial losses to the firm, including through fraud.
• Efficient and effective co-ordination with the other accounts teams.
• Assistance with the firm’s annual audits.
• Assistance with development of the firm’s financial systems.
• Assistance with any mergers undertaken by the firm
• Any other tasks as reasonably required by the Finance Director.

Other information

Knowledge, Skills And Experience

• High level of accuracy and numeracy.
• Well organised with good time management and able to work under pressure to deadlines.
• Pro-active approach to problem solving.
• Good IT skills, including basic level Excel skills
• Ability to build good working relationships.
• Ideally studying towards the Institute of Legal Finance & Management Diploma qualification.

Willingness To Travel To Other Offices When Required

Working towards

• Experience of client accounting within firms of solicitors.
• Knowledge of, and experience in applying, the SRA Accounts Rules.
• Experience of solicitor practice management and financial systems.
• Experience of minimising fraud risks and fraud awareness.

Benefits

• 25 days holiday (of which 3.5 are taken during the Christmas period), plus Birthday holiday, plus Bank Holidays.
• Buying Holiday Scheme
• Enhanced Maternity/Paternity Pay
• Life Assurance
• Private Healthcare
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Sodexo Discounts
• Pension Scheme
• Interest free season ticket loans
• Cycle to work scheme
• Discounts on Legal work