Accounts Assistant

Job description

Job responsibilities

1. To understand the Trusts month-end financial reporting process and to support this process through:

1.1 Control Accounts

o Responsible for an agreed set of control accounts and bank account reconciliations.

o Ensuring that all control accounts assigned are reconciled promptly, accurately and that any necessary corrections are made immediately.

o Ensuring that details of relevant control accounts are effectively communicated to other departments on a timely basis.

o To take the lead in addressing any problems arising from the control accounts including holding meetings and agreeing procedures with departments to resolve issues if necessary.

o Where appropriate to raise invoice and cheque requests.

1.2 Recharges

o Being responsible for the monthly calculation and processing of specific internal recharges in accordance with the month end deadlines.

o Being responsible for specific external recharges.

o Ensuring external recharges are accurately reconciled and

promptly billed using the appropriate VAT classification.

1.3 Accruals

o Ensuring monthly accruals and provisions are calculated,

processed and accurately recorded in the ledger in line with the month end timetable.

2. Responsible for the upkeep of the detailed procedure notes in relation to the month end duties outlined above.

3. Support Agreement of Balances when required.

4. Identify any opportunities for improving the tasks and procedures within your work area and implement changes and improvements to these if required.

5. Responsible for the creation and upkeep of spreadsheets and / or reports from the system, in order to support the month end duties outlined above.

6. Responsible for the preparation of specific areas of the year-end financial accounts including liaising with other departments.

7. To provide and receive sensitive or contentious information, including undertaking all, or a combination of, complex calculations for the Staff-Bank accruals, agreement of balance exercise reconciliations when required and complex deposit and control account reconciliations.

8. To be responsible for completing reconciliations and accruals, ensuring reconciling items are cleared in a timely manner which may require persuasive, motivational, negotiating skills to influence staff outside of the Financial Accounts team, and outside of Finance, to resolve issues which they have not prioritized in their teams.

9 Plan and organise workload to meet agreed objectives, priorities and targets under minimal supervision.

10. To support appropriate prioritisation and allocation of work.

11. To support compliance with all performance targets

and ensure work is completed to month end deadlines.

12 To carry out any other duties as may be required from time to time.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• AAT Level 3 or equivalent. This includes 2 A-Levels, BTEC National Diploma, NVQ Level 3, Advanced Apprenticeship
• Studying or with the clear intention to begin studying for a recognised professional qualification (e.g. CIMA or ACCA)
• Evidence of experience using of Microsoft - Outlook, Word

Desirable

• Part Qualified CIMA or ACCA
• Accountancy Degree or equivalent experience in technical Accounting

Previous Experience

Essential

• Able to demonstrate substantial experience within a technical accounting role

Desirable

• Experience of the Oracle ERP Cloud system

Skills / Knowlege / Ability

Essential

• Experience and expertise in a range of accounting areas e.g. control account reconciliations, journal entries, VAT accounting, year-end and month end accounting processes.
• Good working knowledge of finance ledger systems, coding structures, and financial control processes
• Ability to demonstrate good knowledge of accountancy gained from practical experience in a large organisation or from a relevant degree
• Sound working knowledge of Microsoft Excel - mainly Pivot, Vlookup, Sumifs
• Good written and verbal communication skills

Desirable

• Knowledge of NHS accounting practice and procedures
• Knowledge of International Financial Reporting Standards

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Employer details

Employer name

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Great Dover Street

200 Great Dover Street

London

SE1 4YB

Employer's website

https://www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk/careers/careers.aspx (Opens in a new tab)