Financial Accountant

Royal Society; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 53,000; Full time

Job summary

A distinguished scientific organization is seeking a Financial Accountant to support its financial operations. Responsibilities include supervising ledger staff, ensuring compliance with financial policies, and maintaining investment ledgers. Ideal candidates are qualified accountants or finalists with strong communication skills. This permanent position based in London offers a salary of £53,000.

Qualifications

• Must be a qualified accountant or finalist.
• Experience in the charitable sector or audit background preferred.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills required.

Responsibilities

• Supervise sales and purchase ledger staff.
• Ensure accurate payment runs and ledger postings.
• Maintain fixed asset register and investment ledgers.
• Ensure compliance with statutory requirements.
• Produce KPI reports for senior management.

Skills

Qualified Accountant or finalist (ACCA, CIMA, ACA)

Excellent communication skills

Ability to work accurately under pressure

Initiative and self-management

Education

Qualified in finance or accounting

Job description

Job Scope

The Royal Society is a self-governing Fellowship of distinguished scientists drawn from all areas of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine. The Society’s fundamental purpose is to recognise, promote and support excellence in science and to encourage the development and use of science for the benefit of humanity. The Society has played a part in some of the most fundamental, significant and life-changing discoveries in scientific history and Royal Society scientists continue to make outstanding contributions to science across the wide breadth of research areas.

The Financial Accountant supports the Financial Controller in providing an excellent financial accounting service. The role focuses on ensuring the timely closure of ledgers at month-end, payroll reconciliation and postings, KPIs, monthly reconciliation of key balance sheet accounts, assist with the production of SORP accounts, review and implement financial policies as well as maintenance of the Society’s assets, including bank accounts, investments and fixed and heritage assets.

Please note that we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.

Reports to: Financial Controller

Line manages: No direct line management duties. Day-to-day supervision of Sales and Purchase Ledger Finance Analysts

Pay band: E

Salary: £53000

Contract type: Permanent

Hours: 35hr per week

Location: Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1Y 5AG plus the option for some hybrid remote workingClosing date for applications: Midnight 12 October 2025

Interviews will be held: 22 October 2025

Responsibilities

• Supervise the sales and purchase ledger staff, ensuring postings to the ledger are accurate and timely and follow appropriate procedures
• Check the payment runs (prepared by finance analysts) to ensure payments are accurate and appropriately approved
• Ensure the assets of the Society are properly controlled and accounted for by maintaining the fixed asset register, Heritage asset records and investment ledgers, including production of investment papers
• Mitigate financial risk through fraud or misuse by ensuring that the financial policies and procedures are adhered to across the Society, including reviewing and maintaining delegated authority levels
• Prepare and post monthly payroll journals and ensure all payroll control accounts are reconciled
• Assist with the production of the SORP accounts and all subsidiary accounts on a timely, accurate and appropriate manner
• Ensure compliance with statutory requirements, including preparing and submitting VAT returns, gift aid claims and other statutory filing matters (e.g. ONS surveys)
• Lead on the internal audit of catering supplier for the Society
• Support external audits ensuring that the external audit deliverable documents are produced in a timely and accurate manner, that all information is available and all queries answered
• Ensure that, each month, all balance sheet accounts are reviewed and reconciled, appropriate journals posted, bank reconciliation is completed, and suspense accounts are cleared
• Produce KPI reports that enable senior management to monitor the finance team’s activities and performance
• Assist with administration of the finance system, ensuring it is functioning efficiently
• Appropriate electronic filing of any hard- or soft-copy work related to this role, including ensuring that journals are accurately recorded with appropriate backup
• Carry out any other ad-hoc duties as determined by the Financial Controller, Head of Finance or Chief Financial Officer

Key Knowledge and Skills Required

• Qualified Accountant or finalist – ACCA, CIMA, ACA or equivalent. Part qualified applicants with solid experience within charitable sector or from audit background will be considered. Newly qualified auditors from large or mid-tier firms will be strong candidates for this position
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Ability to work accurately and to deadlines including under pressure and to work co-operatively with others in a team
• Ability to learn quickly and work without close supervision when necessary
• Ability to use initiative and to establish own priorities
• Self-confidence and inquisitive nature
• Ability to be demanding of others when

Competencies

Self-management

• Works unsupervised and can motivate self
• Produces results under pressure
• Can manage in stressful situations
• Pushes for the best results
• Pursues and encourages feedback that may reveal an error in judgment and then makes appropriate adjustments
• Recognises own personal biases or limitations, and uses this understanding to improve decisions and plans for action
• Seeks out mentors and other development resources to gain additional self-awareness and personal development
• Reflects on negative situations with maturity and seeks to understand own contribution to the situation
• Holds things together and acts as a settling influence

Working with others

• Contributes ideas and identifies opportunities to work with others both within the team and across the organisation
• Willing to provide feedback to sectional colleagues when requested
• Produces succinct presentations and papers for senior colleagues
• Understands when to seek senior advice on potentially delicate negotiations
• Reaches a variety of audiences using an appropriate mix of communication methods and tailored messages to appeal to their unique needs
• Speaks from the heart to compel action and creates an emotional appeal for organisational priorities
• Creates an environment of transparency while respecting confidentiality requirements
• Builds consensus for delivering team goals. Frequently interacts with peers, on cross-functional matters.

Resource management

• Makes the best of internal/external resources and coordinates well with external partners to best meet the needs of the Society
• Builds contingency into projects taking into account possible outside factors
• Sets and monitors performance against quality and results orientated targets.
• Focuses on both short and long-term goals
• Creates novel solutions to problems
• Creates a detailed design or plan to implement a new solution or approach
• Evaluates new technology as potential solutions to existing issues.
• Adjusts course as new information comes to light
• Executes quickly and decisively in a time-sensitive situation
• Takes accountability to persist until opportunity is realised or problem solved

Critical thinking

• Determines and clarifies the exact requirements of any situation
• Checks information for accuracy and raises concerns if information is inaccurate
• Extracts the key points succinctly, clearly and accurately
• Puts forward suggestions for improvement concerning current processes or systems
• Tries different ways of doing things to get the best results
• Compares and evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of a variety of options
• Formulates an opinion by considering opposing views and suggestions
• Runs trials and models or applies statistical analysis and stress testing to confirm or disconfirm proposal

Adaptability

• Overcomes obstacles and is not deterred by setbacks; checks assumptions and first principles and works out alternative approaches
• Reacts proactively to new challenges and works in a flexible manner to produce solutions
• Provides feedback and participates in discussions surrounding new ideas approaches or projects
• Maintains focus and continues to deliver when things are ‘up in the air’
• Adjusts to act differently depending on the situation
• Takes steps to understand basic risk management and importance of identifying and maintaining controls
• Helps others to understand and cope with ambiguous situations

Managing people and relationships

• Delegates effectively, setting clear expectations and authority
• Monitors results and feedbacks to team on a regular basis
• Recognises others’ contributions and acknowledges their limits
• Helps others to identify ways to improve their performance
• Prioritises supervisory responsibilities and carries them out in a timely fashion
• Understands and can identify client/stakeholder/staff needs and looks for opportunities to improve their experiences
• Demonstrates trust in others’ ability to accomplish tasks at acceptable levels of performance
• Provides current, direct, complete and actionable positive and constructive feedback
• Has a mind-set of sharing own and others’ expertise
• Creates an environment of transparency while respecting confidentiality requirements
• Focuses on surfacing underlying customer issues/concerns and identifying root causes
• Increases exposure to and personal relationships with customers
• Expresses positive views of the customer