Candidate Specification
ASSISTANT FINANCIAL ACCOUNTANT
Salary: £28k-£35k plus benefits Location: Chancery Lane, London
Term: Permanent Hours: Full time, 37.5 hours a week
Nesta is looking for an efficient, organised, energetic part qualified Assistant Financial Accountant to join its Finance team.
This role will report to the Finance Manager and will cover a range of accounting responsibilities including some statutory reporting, supporting the team’s two management accountants, as well as being responsible for: month-end reconciliations, all bank reconciliations, recording of all income, sales ledger, VAT, fixed asset recording, manage the grants database, and undertake several other sundry responsibilities.
We are looking for someone who is organised, efficient, highly numerate, understands reconciliations, and has clear demonstrable experience working within a Finance team. This role provides significant input into the finance data that supports the organisation so we need someone who is accurate, works well to deadlines, works well within teams, is able to communicate clearly to colleagues throughout the organisation.
We use SunSystems version 6 general ledger and Vision Q&A reporting. Experience of this software application would provide a definite advantage but is not mandatory however experience with a medium sized general ledger package is essential.
The Finance team at Nesta are a high-functioning and close-knit team, expect high levels of performance and are professional and deliver to a high standard of customer service. You will need to enjoy working in a fast-paced, growing organisation, and be a quick learner.
The Finance team sit in an open-plan environment and is made up of: 2 Purchase Ledger Officers (job share), a Financial Accountant, 2 x Management Accountants, a Finance Manager, a Head of Finance, a Finance Director and a Finance Coordinator/PA to Finance Director, and this Assistant Financial Accountant role.
Nesta’s turnover is c£25m - £30m per annum, of which approximately half is received from the Nesta Trust, and the other half through external funding. Its subsidiaries include the Nesta Trust (c£360m in investment assets), a number of small and low transaction subsidiaries, and currently one joint venture.
The role
· Carry out timely month-end balance sheet reconciliations to an auditable standard, ensure all bank accounts are reconciled regularly and reviewed by the Financial Accountant
· Be responsible for preparing the quarterly VAT return and ensuring the quality of VAT information in the general ledger is consistently correct
· Be responsible for Nesta’s grant payable and receivable database, be the main contact person in the Finance team to field queries regarding grants and related internal control processes, and work with colleagues in different teams to ensure milestones and payments are reconciled and records auditable.
· Maintain the fixed asset register for additions/changes, and related depreciation charges. Liaise with colleagues in other departments to ensure all relevant assets are recorded on the asset database.
· Be responsible for petty cash, ensuring sufficient cash to meet needs is available and all paperwork is complete to an auditable standard.
· Be responsible for raising sales invoices and managing a small sales ledger with related credit control procedures, and some sundry forms of income eg book sales, recharges, etc.
· For the Nesta Trust, and for a number of Nesta’s smaller subsidiaries, throughout the year be responsible for processing documents and transactions, prepare quarter-end reconciliations, and draft quarter-end accounts and year-end statutory accounts for review.
· For Nesta’s joint venture organisation, and Nesta’s trading subsidiary, be responsible for processing bank transactions, sales invoices, journals, and any adhoc requirements. Be willing to take on similar responsibilities for any new subsidiaries or joint ventures.
· Assist the Management Accountants in their month-end responsibilities with support in producing standard reports to help budgetholders, restricted fund income recognition, and ad-hoc analysis of financial information as required.
· At all times, be able to support the Finance team in implementing and monitoring internal financial controls and able to explain their practical application to colleagues, and report issues that may arise.
· Participate in the team’s general responsibilities to deliver to internal and external audit requests, HMRC compliance, other statutory reporting compliance.
General
· In a small Finance team, we need all team members to provide sufficient cover for other roles at a similar level within the team, in times of necessity.
· Shared responsibility for ensuring compliance with key Nesta policies in areas such as Health & Safety and Equal Opportunities.
· Such other duties as may be reasonably required from time to time.
The Person
· Part qualified in a relevant accounting qualification (eg ACCA).
· Strong experience working within an organisation’s Finance team, working in team structure that is collaborative yet ensures high levels of checks and balances and segregation of duties.
· Strong experience of working with a medium-sized general ledger package; experience with SUN v6 and Vision Q&A advantageous.
· Strong demonstrable experience of understanding month-end reconciliations including bank reconciliations, management of databases, preparation of VAT returns, preparation of quarter-end and statutory accounts for small entities.
· Highly numerate and high levels of proficiency with MS Excel 2010, very good attention to detail.
· Ability to effectively use appropriate communication styles (listening and articulation) to present information and analysis with clarity and focus.
· Organised, planful, like meeting expectations and deadlines with quality work.
· Customer-oriented, able to build good rapport and trust with team members and colleagues.
· Pro-active and have a ‘can-do’ attitude, able to solve problems on own initiative and participate in maintaining a successful Finance team.
· Flexible approach to work and an ability to adapt to change, a necessity in a growing and face-paced organisation.
About Nesta
Nesta is the UK’s innovation foundation. We help people and organisations bring great ideas to life. We do this by providing investments and grants and mobilising research, networks and skills. We are an independent charity (registered with charity number 1144091) and our work is enabled by an endowment from the National Lottery.
We aim to be:
● Recognised by innovators, entrepreneurs, academics, policy makers, and fundersas a leading centre of knowledgeandpractice in innovation for the public good.
● Providing early stage finance and practical assistance to organisations that innovate in the fields in which we work, achieving good financial returns on our investments, demonstrable social impact, and successful scaling up of innovations.
● Effective at influencing the policyenvironment to improve the conditions for innovators, with tangible successes at local, national and international levels.
● Spreading knowledge and expertise about how to manage innovation to a substantial community of innovators in start-ups, civil society and the public sector.
● Recognised for our own excellence and expertise but also great at collaboration, with Nesta at the heart of a network of like-minded institutions.
● Linked into, and influencing, the very best innovation thinking and practice across the world.
How to apply
To apply for this role, please complete your application on the following link http://nestarecruitment.submittable.com/submit/b40fe28a-4729-4f44-a9e0-1dbc49193ead by 12:00pm on Thursday 3rd December 2015.
1st interviews will be held Friday 11th December 2015
2nd interviews will be held Wednesday 16th December 2015