Assistant Accountant

Assistant Accountant - 37 Hours

Department: Finance
Location: Torbay Council
Reporting To: Team Manager
Employment Type: Permanent
Compensation: GBP 31,537 - GBP 34,434 / year

There has never been a better time to join our Finance team at Torbay Council. We have a real momentum building with a shared sense of purpose and ambition.

An exciting opportunity has arisen within the Corporate Finance service team for an Assistant Accountant - VAT. This is a varied and engaging role offering exposure to a wide range of technical VAT responsibilities within a local authority environment.

As part of this role, you will be supported to build your expertise and progress within this specialist field, with a clear pathway towards more senior VAT role. This makes the role an ideal opportunity for someone looking to establish and grow a career in a technical area of public sector finance.

• Preparation and submission of monthly VAT returns.
• Assisting with reconciliations between VAT ledger accounts and HMRC reclaim totals.
• Responding to routine VAT coding and treatment queries from finance colleagues and service areas.
• Supporting the preparation of schedules and evidence for internal and external audit, including HMRC information requests.
• Assisting with the maintenance and update of VAT policy documents and procedure notes.
• Contributing to the effective management of daily cashflow activities.

• Effective interpersonal skills and the ability to work both independently, using own initiative and as part of a team.
• Ability to undertake a diverse workload and produce desired outcomes with deadlines, working with conflicting demands and priorities to meet deadlines.
• A flexible and adaptable communication style and able to communicate to a wider range of audiences.
• To be willing to learn and develop new skills.
• A high level of numeracy, literacy and IT skills.

• Basic knowledge and understanding of accounting standards.
• Basic knowledge and understanding closing annual accounts.
• Basic knowledge and understanding bookkeeping of financial records.
• Basic knowledge and understanding costing, cashflow management and forecasting.

• Educated to A level standard or equivalent.
• Experience of working within a financial/accountancy environment.
• Experience of working with information technology-based systems and PC based software.