Accounts & Audit Senior

JOB DESCRIPTION – Accounts/audit Senior

REPORTING TO: Accounts/Audit Manager

LIAISON WITH: Partners and employees within the firm and when required new and existing clients and professional contacts including banks and solicitors.

KEY OBJECTIVES: To be responsible for the accurate preparation of accountancy and audit work unsupervised, and providing effective support for both Partner and Manager. Ensuring the continued development of trainees and less senior staff within the team.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

To undertake the training requirements of the Practice in order to develop and progress your knowledge and skills.

To integrate successfully with the team and provide effective support for other team members.

Dealing with complex accounting issues as required on accountancy assignments including ensuring that the accounting policies and estimates used on the client are appropriate and that the disclosures are correct.

Ensuring that the accounts file has been completed correctly and is ready for review by either the Manager or Partner. As part of the review highlighting any issues or inconsistencies in the accounting information and other areas for concern. Use analytical techniques to ensure that the accounts prepared are in accordance with client and industry expectations.

To prepare written communication to send to or verbally communicate with our clients to obtain information to complete the accounts preparation process and to deal with any queries raised.

Preparation or review of management accounts on larger clients including providing an analysis of the data produced and looking at ratios and analytically reviewing the results.

Understand the implications of good management accounting records being kept by our clients. Being able to identify weaknesses in the clients systems and procedures and make recommendations for improvements.

Being able to train and explain to clients the benefits of maintaining good accounting records and to provide training on any changes required or the implementation of new accounting software.

Detailed audit work on the more complex areas of the audit assignment including stock and work in progress, taxation and other areas considered as medium to high risk on the assignment. Reviewing the audit work of junior members of the team and feeding back to them and ensuring that adequate audit evidence has been obtained and the conclusions raised are appropriate. Providing feedback to the Audit Manager on the conclusions obtained and areas of concern on the audit.

Preparation of corporation tax computations for all levels of organisation including group structures where necessary. Liaising with the tax department as necessary on complicated or unusual adjustments. Ensuring clients are aware of the deadlines for submission of data and payments to HMRC.

Understanding the tax treatment of salary and dividend payments for limited companies in order that basic computations for personal tax could be prepared for review as part of the annual accounts process.

Managing and reviewing the work of assistant team members’, identifying training needs, and providing timely feedback for their development.

To adhere to and follow the Practice’s workflow procedures including updating digita practice management tasks and completing daily timesheets.

To ensure that practice procedures are understood and followed by more junior members of the team.

To be prepared to take on additional tasks and follow instructions and procedures that are required for the operation of the accounts and audit process.

Commercially aware in terms of undertaking tasks and preparing accounts and audit in a cost effective manner and meeting external deadlines imposed.

To have an understanding of the services provided by the Practice in order to recognise opportunities to promote these externally.

To assist with the promotion of the Practice if possible through sharing Practice articles with social media.

To be prepared to deliver a training session to staff on key accounting or audit areas as requested by the Partners.

To adhere to the Firm’s Health & Safety Policy at all times

KEY ATTRIBUTES:
• Act with due care and attention and ensure confidentiality is applied at all times
• Commitment to learning new skills and to continually develop your knowledge
• Ability to listen and follow instructions
• Having an enquiring mind in order to resolve issues
• Being able to challenge decisions and put across your point of view
• Provide encouragement and empathy when providing training to members of staff
• Communicate effectively with internal and external parties on both a verbal and written level.
• Good analytical and interpretation skills of clients’ data