Senior Accountant

Location: Greater London

The world’s leading organizations and global players choose Proskauer to represent them when they need it the most. With 900+ lawyers in key financial centers around the world, we are known for our pragmatic and business-savvy approach.

Proskauer is the place to turn when a matter is complex, innovative and game-changing. We work seamlessly across practices, industries and jurisdictions with asset managers, private equity and venture capital firms, Fortune 500 and FTSE companies, major sports leagues, entertainment industry legends and other industry-redefining companies.

Proskauer is seeking a Senior Accountant, based in the London office, who will be responsible for overseeing all facets of the Firm’s international offices’ accounting operations, general ledger accounting, statutory reporting, VAT compliance, accrual-basis accounting, internal control and policy development. The Senior Accountant will have responsibility across the Firm’s international offices, with a particular focus on London and Paris, ensuring a consistent service level for each location.

Reporting to the International Controller, the Senior Accountant will establish a well-controlled, efficient and customer-focused full-service accounting function.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
General Accounting and Close

• Manage the operations of the Firm’s international offices’ accounting functions (London, Paris, Hong Kong and São Paulo), acting as the London-based point of contact for international accounting
• Participate in the monthly and annual general ledger close process for the international offices’ ledgers, managing to a central global timetable, and validate the accuracy of the results
• Oversee bank, intercompany and balance sheet reconciliations across the international entities, including multi-currency balances
• Work with the Financial Planning & Analysis Team to ensure coding of expenses is correctly and consistently applied and appropriately authorized
• Provide status of the financial condition of the international offices, when requested, by collecting, interpreting and reporting key financial data

VAT and Indirect Tax

• Own UK and French VAT compliance for the London and Paris offices, including preparing or reviewing UK VAT returns under Making Tax Digital and French VAT (TVA) returns with the outsourced Paris accountants, and meeting all filing and payment deadlines
• Ensure the correct VAT treatment and Aderant Expert tax codes are applied to purchase and sales invoices, including standard rated, zero rated, reverse charge, exempt, outside the scope and counsel fees, and apply place-of-supply rules to cross-border services
• Maintain the integrity of vendor master data, including VAT registration numbers, addresses and tax jurisdictions, and confirm a supplier’s VAT number is valid before input VAT is recovered
• Review expense reimbursements in Chrome River for VAT recovery in line with the London Office VAT policy, including partner, staff and client entertainment and travel, and identify missed or incorrect VAT claims
• Reconcile VAT control accounts (input VAT, output VAT, VAT receivable and VAT payable) each month and clear input and output VAT balances
• Apply French VAT tax-point rules for services (cash receipts basis or the option pour les débits) so that VAT recovery and payment are recognised in the correct period
• Support the Paris office’s compliance with France’s e-invoicing and e-reporting reform, including e-invoices received from suppliers and from independent Paris lawyers through the Firm’s approved platform
• Maintain and update the Firm’s London and Paris VAT policies and guides, act as the first point of contact for VAT queries from Accounts Payable, Billing and Expenses, and liaise with HMRC,…