Assistant Accountant

A small, well established accounting practice based in Central London with a varied portfolio of owner managed businesses seeks an Assistant Accountant to join asap on an initial 6m FTC due to an increase in workload, however there is a possibility of a permanent position if the person performed well and is a Mandarin speaker. THE ROLE This is a pure accounts production role. There is no bookkeeping element, so your time is spent on reconciliations and preparing statutory accounts rather than processing transactions. You will be responsible for: • Preparing up to approximately 15 sets of small company accounts per month, from client records through to a file ready for manager review • Bank, control account and balance sheet reconciliations • Resolving queries directly with clients and requesting outstanding information • Preparing supporting schedules and working papers to a review ready standard • Assisting with corporation tax computations alongside the accounts, depending on experience • Supporting the team with ad hoc client work as the portfolio requires WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR Essential • Prior experience in an accountancy practice environment preparing small company accounts would be ideal however not essential • Confident with reconciliations and able to work a set of accounts through with limited supervision • Strong Excel skills, including lookups, pivot tables and building your own schedules • Well organised, with the ability to manage a monthly workflow and hit filing deadlines • Part qualified, AAT qualified or studying towards ACCA or ACA Desirable • Working knowledge of VT Transaction+ and VT Final Accounts • Mandarin language skills, which would be a real asset given the firm’s Mandarin speaking client base and would allow you to build direct relationships with those clients • Exposure to corporation tax and personal tax