ASSISTANT MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANT: RETAIL
Reports to: Finance Manager - Retail
We're looking for a motivated trainee accountant to join our busy and friendly Finance team as an Assistant Management Accountant.
You’ll be part of our Retail Finance team of 5 who are responsible for financial accounting, reporting, control and analysis for 365 stores across the UK, Europe, North America and New Zealand.
This progressive role would suit someone studying towards an accountancy qualification and offers the opportunity for the right individual to advance into a qualified Management Accountant role in due course.
ROLE
Month end
- Prepare and post period end journal entries ensuring accurate recording of store costs in a timely manner.
- Complete robust balance sheet reconciliations to agreed deadlines with all reconciling items investigated and resolved promptly.
- Investigate and prepare narrative explaining variances to budget and prior year for key expense categories.
- Supporting the Finance Manager: Retail with the preparation of reporting to communicate performance to the management team.
Business partnering
- Identify drivers of overspend, prepare ad hoc analysis, and develop recommendations to reduce finance risk.
- Development and mature stakeholder relationships across the Retail team and with central department Heads.
- Support the budgeting and forecast process, liaising closely with the Commercial Finance team.
Compliance and controls
- Significant involvement in the year-end process, preparation of deliverables for the audit and key contact for the auditors during the audit process.
- Support the preparation of statutory statistical filings in the UK and overseas.
- Support the development of a robust control environment by continuously identifying opportunities to improve financial systems and processes and by implementing these changes.
Other
- Ongoing non-business as usual project work within the finance team as and when required.
SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
- Studying for a recognised accountancy qualification (ACCA/CIMA/ACA).
- Minimum 2 years’ experience working within a Finance team in a high-volume environment.
- Retail industry experience preferable but not essential.
- Enthusiastic, self-motivated and a desire to drive improvements in a fast-paced and entrepreneurial business.
- Excellent numeracy and IT skills including advanced Excel with a strong attention to detail.