Senior Accountant – Manchester Accountancy Practice

Hawthorne-Finch Talent Solutions; Manchester; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 45,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Study support

Birthday leave

Flexible benefits

Modern office in Manchester city-centa

Job summary

Hawthorne-Finch Talent Solutions is recruiting a Senior Accountant for its Manchester city centre practice. You will manage a varied client portfolio and prepare and review accounts for owner-managed businesses, with a focus on business advice rather than pure year-end compliance.

The role offers development opportunities, exposure to cloud accounting and direct client contact, with support to progress to more senior advisory responsibilities within a collaborative team.

Qualifications

• Recent UK Accountancy Practice experience
• Experience preparing year-end statutory accounts
• Experience supporting a portfolio of owner-managed businesses
• Knowledge of corporation tax and personal tax compliance
• Experience preparing management accounts and VAT returns
• Strong client-communication and relationship-management skills
• Ability to manage several assignments and deadlines
• Good attention to detail
• Proactive and collaborative approach
• Interest in developing junior colleagues

Responsibilities

• Prepare statutory accounts for limited companies
• Prepare accounts for sole traders and partnerships
• Prepare corporation-tax computations and returns
• Prepare personal tax returns where required
• Produce management accounts and related financial information
• Complete VAT returns
• Support clients with bookkeeping and cloud-accounting queries
• Review accounting records and resolve queries
• Liaise with clients to obtain records and resolve queries
• Explain accounts and financial information clearly to clients
• Manage a portfolio of owner-managed businesses
• Monitor deadlines and ensure timely delivery
• Support and review work by junior team members
• Contribute to development of efficient systems

Skills

Client communication

Time management

Attention to detail

Independent worker

Education

ACA/ACCA qualified

Newly qualified

Part-qualified with UK practice experience

Tools

Xero

Job description

Senior Accountant

Location: Manchester city centre
Salary: £38,000–£45,000 per annum, depending on experience
Job Type: Permanent, Full-time
Sector: Accountancy Practice
Experience: Recent UK Accountancy Practice experience required

The Opportunity

A progressive and growing Manchester Accountancy Practice is seeking an experienced Senior Accountant to join its client-focused team.

This opportunity would suit an Accountant who enjoys working closely with owner-managed businesses and ambitious entrepreneurs, rather than simply completing year-end compliance work. The successful candidate will manage a varied client portfolio, prepare and review accounts, support junior colleagues and help clients understand their financial information.

The practice takes a relationship-led approach, combining statutory compliance with commercial advice, cloud accounting and wider business-growth support. The successful candidate will join a collaborative team with direct client contact, professional-development opportunities and the scope to take on greater responsibility as the role develops.

Key Responsibilities

The Senior Accountant’s responsibilities are expected to include:

• Preparing statutory accounts for limited companies
• Preparing accounts for sole traders and partnerships
• Preparing corporation-tax computations and returns
• Preparing personal tax returns where required
• Producing management accounts and related financial information
• Completing VAT returns
• Supporting clients with bookkeeping and cloud-accounting queries
• Reviewing accounting records and identifying missing or inconsistent information
• Liaising directly with clients to obtain records and resolve queries
• Explaining accounts and financial information clearly to clients
• Managing a portfolio of owner-managed businesses
• Monitoring deadlines and ensuring work is completed accurately and on time
• Supporting and reviewing work completed by junior team members
• Contributing to the development of efficient systems and working practices
• Identifying opportunities where clients may benefit from additional advice or services
• Working closely with Managers and senior colleagues on more complex assignments

The exact balance of responsibilities will depend on the successful candidate’s experience and development objectives.

About You

To be considered for this position, you should have:

• Recent experience working within a UK Accountancy Practice
• Experience preparing year-end statutory accounts
• Experience supporting a portfolio of owner-managed businesses
• Knowledge of corporation tax and personal tax compliance
• Experience preparing management accounts and VAT returns
• Strong client-communication and relationship-management skills
• The ability to manage several assignments and competing deadlines
• Good attention to detail
• A proactive, dependable and collaborative approach
• The confidence to work independently while escalating technical issues appropriately
• An interest in supporting and developing junior colleagues
• A genuine desire to understand clients’ businesses rather than focusing only on compliance

Applicants may be:

• ACA or ACCA qualified
• Newly qualified
• Part-qualified with strong UK Accountancy Practice experience
• Qualified by experience with a strong technical background

Experience using cloud-accounting platforms such as Xero would be advantageous. The practice has an established cloud-accounting offering and a team of Xero-certified advisers.

The Practice

The successful candidate will join an established Manchester practice supporting businesses at different stages of growth.

The wider service offering includes:

• Statutory accounts and compliance
• Business-growth advice
• Cloud accounting
• Xero support
• Management information
• Tax advice
• Payroll
• Corporate finance
• Financial planning and related business support

The practice works closely with growth-focused businesses and places importance on understanding each client’s commercial objectives, not only producing financial statements.

What Is Offered

The package is expected to include:

• Salary of £38,000–£45,000, depending on experience
• Professional and personal-development support
• Training on new systems, technology and technical developments
• Study support where appropriate
• A flexible benefits scheme
• Your birthday as an additional day of leave
• Regular team and social events
• A modern Manchester city-centre working environment
• Direct exposure to ambitious businesses and entrepreneurs
• Opportunities to broaden client-management and advisory experience
• A supportive and collaborative team culture

Career Development

This opportunity offers scope to develop beyond accounts preparation into broader client-management and advisory responsibilities.

Depending on experience and performance, development may include:

• Greater ownership of client relationships
• More complex accounts and advisory work
• Reviewing junior team members’ work
• Coaching and supporting trainees
• Management-accounting and business-growth assignments
• Involvement in process and technology improvements
• Progression towards Client Manager or Manager-level responsibility