Finance Assistant

Oxford University Press; England; Hybrid; GBP 28,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading educational publisher in the UK is seeking a Finance Assistant to support their Financial Accounts team. Responsibilities include processing financial transactions, assisting with month-end activities, and maintaining accurate records. The ideal candidate will have an accounting qualification and experience in finance, with strong attention to detail and relationship-building skills. The role offers a hybrid work model and competitive salary.

Benefits

25 days holiday plus bank holidays

Pension contributions up to 12%

Travel to work schemes

Qualifications

• Accounting qualification AAT level 3 / 4 or working towards.
• Experience of working in a Finance team, demonstrating attention to detail.
• Highly motivated and flexible around month end.

Responsibilities

• Assist with month-end and year-end closing activities.
• Post journal entries into the finance system.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date financial records.

Skills

Attention to detail

Relationship building

Microsoft Excel

SAP (S4/Hanna)

Education

AAT level 3/4

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

The Finance Assistant plays a key role in supporting the Financial Accounts (Group Reporting) team by processing financial transactions, maintaining accurate records, and assisting with month-end accounting activities. Responsibilities in this role include preparing accruals and prepayments, performing balance sheet reconciliations, managing staff expenses, and posting journal entries to ensure timely and accurate financial reporting. The role also supports compliance with internal policies and external regulations. It offers an excellent opportunity for individuals looking to build a strong foundation in finance and accounting.

Key responsibilities in this role will include:

• Assist with month-end and year-end closing activities, including the preparation and posting of accruals, prepayments, and internal cost allocations. Support the finance team in ensuring all deadlines are met and records are accurate.
• Post journal entries into the finance system with appropriate documentation
• Process intercompany purchase and sales orders
• Raise manual invoices for transactions not supported by sales orders
• Assist with the monthly reconciliation of balance sheet accounts, including intercompany balances, ensuring discrepancies are identified and resolved promptly.
• Review and process staff expense claims in accordance with company policies and tax regulations. Ensure correct VAT coding and documentation for compliance and recovery.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date financial records, ensuring timely filing of both digital and physical documents in line with audit and policy requirements.
• Work closely with internal teams such as Accounts Payable, Cashiers, and divisional finance teams to support smooth financial operations and resolve transactional issues.

We operate a hybrid working policy that requires a minimum of 2 days per week in the Oxford office.

About You

To be successful in this role, you will ideally have/be:

• Accounting qualification AAT level 3 / 4 or working towards.
• Experience of working in a Finance team, demonstrating the ability to meet key deadlines and a focus on attention to detail and accuracy
• Highly motivated and willing to learn, flexible around month end to ensure that deadlines are met
• Ability to develop relationships, influence, and communicate effectively, with staff at all levels of seniority and across different cultures
• Microsoft Office skills (primarily Excel and Outlook)
• Experience of using SAP ( S4/Hanna) and/or Happay System (Desirable)

We care about work/life balance here at OUP. With this in mind we offer 25 days’ holiday that rises with service, plus bank holidays and Christmas closure (3-days) and a 35-hour working week. We are open to discussing flexibility in respect to working patterns, dependent on role. We also have a great variety of active employee networks and societies.

We help make your money go further by contributing to your pension up to 12%, offering loans and savings schemes through our partnership with Salary Finance, in addition to travel to work schemes and access to a wide range of local discounts.

This role comes with a discretionary annual payment.

Please see our Rewards and Recognition page for more information.

Please note this advert may be removed before the advertised end date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

We are committed to supporting diversity in our workforce, and ensuring an inclusive environment where all individuals can thrive. We seek to employ a workforce representative of the markets that we serve and encourage applications from all.

£28,000 - £30,000 dependent on skills and experience