Finance Assistant | Harewood | £30,000 – £36,000 | Full or part time (over 4 days)

The Opportunity

We are looking for a Finance Assistant to join the finance team of a growing SME based in Harewood as a result of continued growth.

This is an ideal opportunity for someone with around 12-18 months’ experience in an accounts or finance role who has built a good understanding of the basics and is now looking for their next step.

You will initially support the day-to-day finance function, alongside the Finance Manager, gaining experience across purchase ledger, sales ledger, banking, reconciliations and general finance administration. As your knowledge and confidence develop, you will also have the opportunity to become increasingly involved in month-end processes and the preparation of management accounts.

The long-term aim is to help the successful candidate develop into an Assistant Management Accountant, with further progression as their skills and experience grow.

Your responsibilities will develop as you gain experience, but initially you’ll be involved in all areas of the finance function:

Purchase & Sales Ledger

• Processing supplier invoices and maintaining accurate records.
• Matching invoices and resolving queries.
• Raising customer invoices.
• Allocating customer receipts.
• Supporting credit control and following up outstanding balances.
• Reconciling supplier and customer accounts.

Banking & Reconciliations

• Completing regular bank reconciliations.
• Posting receipts and payments.
• Processing company expenses and credit card transactions.
• Investigating and resolving reconciliation queries.

Month-End & Management Accounts

• Supporting the month-end close process.
• Assisting with journals, accruals and prepayments.
• Preparing balance sheet reconciliations.
• Assisting with management accounts prep
• Working alongside the Finance Manager to develop your understanding of P&L, balance sheets and financial reporting.
• Gradually taking ownership of elements of the monthly management accounts process as your experience develops.

General Finance Administration

• Maintaining accurate accounting records.
• Assisting with VAT returns and other financial administration.
• Supporting audit requirements.
• Helping with payroll administration where required.
• Responding to finance queries from colleagues across the business.
• Supporting the Finance Manager with ad hoc analysis and reporting.

You will need to have:

• Practical experience working in an accounts or finance environment, ideally within an SME environment
• A good understanding of double-entry bookkeeping.
• Experience with purchase ledger and/or sales ledger.
• Some experience of bank reconciliations.
• Good Excel skills.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Good organisational and time-management skills.
• A willingness to learn and take on additional responsibility.
• Good communication skills and the confidence to use your own initiative to solve problems
• Experience using an accounting system such as Sage, Xero, QuickBooks, Microsoft Dynamics, Access Financials or similar.
• AAT qualified, part-qualified or currently studying AAT would be advantageous

Apply now

If you’re organised, conscientious and keen to develop into a more rounded accountant, this could be an excellent next step in your career.