Assistant Management Accountant

Mayer Brown Limited is looking for an Assistant Management Accountant to join our finance team. This is a practical, hands-on role in a small finance function, suited to someone with solid month-end accounting experience who is ready to take on more ownership and responsibility. The role is suitable for someone currently working as an Assistant Accountant, Assistant Management Accountant or Junior Management Accountant who wants to develop further in management accounting.

The successful candidate will be comfortable with the fundamentals of month-end accounting and will have the opportunity to gain exposure to management reporting, budgeting, forecasting, cash flow and project-related financial analysis. Prior experience across all areas is not essential, but a willingness to develop in them over time is important.

• Month-end and management accounts
  • Prepare and post journals, accruals, prepayments and other month-end adjustments.
  • Support fixed asset reporting, including depreciation calculations and related journals.
  • Maintain and reconcile balance sheet accounts and supporting schedules.
  • Prepare bank reconciliations and control account reconciliations.
  • Review income, costs and overheads to support accurate reporting.
  • Help ensure month-end tasks are completed accurately and on time.
  • Prepare draft month-end reports, schedules and analysis for review by the Finance Director.
  • Support year-end processes and assist with audit preparation.
• Reporting and analysis
  • Support the Finance Director with monthly reporting packs for Directors and senior managers.
  • Prepare variance analysis against budget, forecast and prior periods.
  • Assist with commentary explaining key movements in financial performance.
  • Produce ad hoc financial analysis to support business decision-making.
  • Help improve the clarity, consistency and usefulness of financial reporting.
• Budgeting, forecasting and cashflow
  • Assist with the annual budgeting process.
  • Support periodic forecasting and budget review work.
  • Help track actual performance against budget and forecast.
  • Assist with cashflow reporting and working capital analysis.
  • Support staff cost analysis, overhead reviews and financial modelling as required.
• Project and commercial finance
  • Develop an understanding of project financial reporting within a consultancy environment.
  • Support reporting on project performance, WIP, billing, recoverability and margins.
  • Assist with reviews of project income, costs and profitability.
  • Liaise with Project Managers and Team Leaders to improve the quality of project financial information.
  • Identify billing delays, project reporting issues or areas requiring commercial attention.
  • Prior experience in project finance, WIP, recoverability or margin reporting is useful but not essential; the priority is strong month-end accounting experience and a willingness to develop into project finance over time.
• Finance operations and controls
  • Support sales ledger, purchase ledger and payment runs where required.
  • Assist with payroll, pension and staff cost reconciliations as needed.
  • Support the maintenance of strong financial controls.
  • Help ensure reconciliations and supporting schedules are clear, accurate and well documented.
  • Identify practical improvements to finance processes, reconciliations and reporting routines.
• Systems and process improvement
  • Work with systems including Xero, CMAP, HR software and Excel.
  • Help improve the flow of information between project management and finance systems.
  • Look for ways to reduce manual work, improve accuracy and make reporting more useful.
  • Document processes clearly and help create consistency within the finance function.

• AAT Level 3 qualified as a minimum, or qualified by experience with equivalent practical capability.
• Practical experience in a finance role with direct involvement in month-end processes.
• Experience preparing journals, accruals and prepayments, and exposure to fixed assets, depreciation or similar month-end schedules.
• Experience preparing balance sheet and bank reconciliations and drafting management accounts or month-end reports for review.
• Exposure to budgeting or budget preparation.
• Good understanding of ledgers, balance…