Financial Accountant

Description

We are looking to recruit a Financial Accountant to drive financial success within a dynamic team. As a key member of our Accounting & Finance department, you will play a pivotal role in shaping our financial strategy and contributing to our continued growth and success.

UK Job Description

We are looking to recruit a Financial Accountant to drive financial success within a dynamic team. As a key member of our Accounting & Finance department, you will play a pivotal role in shaping our financial strategy and contributing to our continued growth and success.

This challenging and rewarding position will have responsibility for the delivery of high quality accounting processes within the UK Accounting team, and improved Financial/Technical analysis. The role will have responsibility for complete and robust accounting procedures as well as responsibility for certain key control activities through the calendar year, across our global centres. The position will undertake examination of business metrics as well as own certain aspects of the annual audit and statutory reporting processes.

There will be exposure to aspects of project work, where the individual will be expected to own the changes and ensure successful implementation. To excel in this role, you should possess, above all, strong accounting technical skills and the ability to communicate effectively with various stakeholders at all levels in the organisation.

The Firm

Reed Smith is a dynamic international law firm dedicated to helping clients move their businesses forward. Our belief is that by delivering smarter and more creative legal services, we will not only enrich our clients' experiences with us but also support them in achieving their business goals.

Our long-standing relationships, international outlook, and collaborative structure make us the go-to partner for the speedy resolution of complex disputes, transactions, and regulatory matters.

We all share a common culture, with core values supporting the firm’s commitment to add value, achieve excellence, and promote professional development. We place a huge significance on listening to our people and incorporating their ideas wherever possible.

Reed Smith Global Solutions in Leeds will bring together lawyers and business services professionals to deliver client solutions. The legal offering will include a newly launched Records & e-Discovery practice, as well as associates and paralegals in key practice and industry groups. The business services teams will include client value, practice innovation, marketing, HR, IT, and finance roles.

Responsibilities

• Reporting to the Finance Manager, the primary purpose of the role is to provide accounting services across a range of responsibilities, delivering technical guidance and analysis, appropriate to relevant accounting standards/ legal requirements, in a timely and reliable manner.
• Take ownership for aspects of financial reporting and balance sheet controls, taking ‘end to end’ responsibility for certain Month/Year end activities:
  • Creating process improvements, suggesting changes to enhance the control environment and improve decision making insight
  • For example, provision of reliable quarterly management accounts for a range of units
  • Compilation of annual TB and financial statements for certain units within the UK-based group, and elsewhere, ready for both Finance Manager’s review and subsequent external audit, ensuring accuracy and complete analysis.
  • Reconciliation of all balance sheet accounts, often unguided, for the relevant units, as well as other key accounts including distributions and payroll costs.
  • Development, implementation and maintenance of new model for regular reconciliation of EMEA intercompany balances; complete resolution of reconciling items to ensure they are cleared in a timely manner and to ensure that processes/controls are adapted/implemented to prevent recurrence where feasible.
  • Own accuracy of, and prepare, VAT reporting for various units
  • Provision of data to external statutory auditors during their audits, ensuring this meets expected standards – in addition being able to guide through the analysis and hold…