Job Description

In this diverse role, you will work with the UK based finance team and be a key contact, providing crucial day-to-day support, to four overseas offices (Madrid, Paris, Piraeus and Singapore). You will build positive working relationships with the firm’s international bookkeepers and advisors. The role of the Assistant Accountant will work closely with the International Management Accountant to ensure the monthly management accounts for the overseas offices are prepared accurately to tight reporting deadlines and will also be involved in UK accounting and reporting matters.

Responsibilities

• Act as key point of contact for the overseas finance staff.
• Take responsibility to request, scrutinise and post the overseas cashbooks into the finance system.
• Reconciliation of the overseas bill books, highlighting and resolving any differences.
• Ownership of the overseas fixed asset registers – recording of additions and disposals, calculating and posting the monthly depreciation adjustments.
• Maintain and update the prepayments and accruals schedules.
• Responsibility for setting up and recording transactions in both UK and overseas bank accounts, reconciliations thereof.
• Review, process and follow up approval of invoices and expenses, using SAP Concur. Ensure invoices and employee expenses are properly approved, coded, and paid in a timely manner.
• Preparation of schedules and collation of information to assist with regular VAT/GST and other submissions across the four jurisdictions
• Assist with intercompany invoicing, recharges, journal posting and reconciliation processes.
• Assist in the preparation of monthly management accounts.
• Assistance with the annual statutory audit.
• Active participation in team and departmental meetings.
• Undertake any specific training when required to do so and overall to have a responsibility towards self-development.
• Adhere to a strict internal control environment, ensuring firm policies, processes and procedures are followed.
• Assisting within the department or any other duties as reasonably required for both overseas and UK offices.

Essential & Desirable Criteria

• AAT or ACCA studier who is enthusiastic and ambitious to learn and grow within the role.
• A clear ability to manage and prioritise a complex and changing workload, with the ability to work under pressure within tight deadlines, whilst maintaining a high attention to detail at all times.
• A strong team player who can work within a team and also individually.
• Numerate with robust double entry skills.
• Experience of bookkeeping, including prepayments, accruals, fixed assets and bank reconciliations.
• IT literate with good excel skills including, but not limited to lookups and pivot tables.
• Good communications skills, both written and verbal.
• A background in law and experience of Aderant are desirable but not essential for this role.
• Experience working with multiple currencies is advantageous.

At our firm, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is a priority and at the heart of everything we do. We actively want to attract a diverse workforce and welcome applications from everyone, from all backgrounds. We are committed to promoting an inclusive culture where everyone can be their full selves and experience being seen and heard. You can find out more about our firm’s commitment, initiatives and Pennclusion committees here.

We ensure that there are equal opportunities and treatment for all job applicants and employees, at all stages of the recruitment process and employment, regardless of age, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, disability, race (including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin), religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and social background. We aim to provide adjustments for people who have a disability, long-term health condition (including mental health) or neurodiversity. If you would like to request an adjustment, please contact Sam.Austin@penningtonslaw.com