Assistant Accountant
Assistant Accountant
Hours: Full Time/ Part Time (4-5 days Per Week) Duration: Initial 12-month fixed-term contract, with the possibility of a permanent appointmentPay: Circa £36,000 + Benefits
We are looking for an exceptional Assistant Accountant to join our happy and high-performing Finance team. This position presents a rare opportunity to join The Royal Yacht Britannia (Tripadvisor's No.1 Visitor Attraction), a leading five-star visitor attraction and exclusive events venue celebrated for its outstanding quality and customer experience, as well as the team behind our sister ship, Fingal—Scotland’s only luxury floating hotel, awarded Scotland’s AA Hotel of the Year 2023/24 and Edinburgh’s No.1 hotel on Tripadvisor.
This role offers an outstanding opportunity to gain broad accounting experience across one of the visitor attraction and hospitality industry’s leading businesses.Company benefits include:
• 6.6 weeks/33 days pro-rata, annual holiday entitlement (one week/5 days pro-rata more than statutory min).
• Hybrid working opportunities.
• Performance and loyalty payment scheme.
• 10% employer pension contribution, with a choice to contribute up to a further 5% yourself, which would then be matched by us as well! (so 20% potential contribution to your pension).
• Free car parking for staff.
• Up to one week/5 days pro-rata, long service holiday entitlement.
• Life Assurance.
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• Complimentary tickets and staff discount (Britannia and Fingal Hotel and other luxury hotels).
• Study Support available.
Finance Team
The Finance team is involved in a wide range of activities, ranging from day-to-day financial processing, to playing a role in formulating the organisation’s financial strategy. We provide support to the managers and staff of Britannia and Fingal, who are responsible for delivering exceptional experiences to our visitors. We are looking for an Assistant Accountant to join the friendly team on board (your office would be on Britannia!).The Assistant Accountant Role
The core purpose of the role is to provide support to the Senior Finance Manager, Finance Manager and wider Finance team in both management and financial accounting disciplines.
Critical to the success of the role will be to gain an active understanding of each department, so that direction and advice can be given on all aspects of month end reporting, budgets, forecasting, and other financial and non-financial matters relating to the development of the company.
Furthermore, the business is in an exciting phase of digital development and as we adopt the automation of traditional accounting processes and embrace real-time reporting, the role will expand and adapt accordingly to support data analysis across the business (including non-finance systems) to ensure sound financial decision making.
The post holder is required to use their initiative and be pro-active in supporting the Senior Finance Manager in seeking to improve the company's financial position, performance, and mitigation of risks.
The post holder will support the Finance Managers, Managers, and Directors in monitoring and taking remedial action to ensure financial performance meets key corporate performance indicators.Main Duties, Responsibilities & Accountabilities:
• Working in conjunction with the Senior Finance Manager, Finance Manager, and wider Finance team to ensure the delivery of high standards of transactional processing, as well as providing excellent financial guidance and support to the business.
• Support the Senior Finance Manager and Finance Manager in the preparation of the monthly management accounts, including undertaking tasks such as accruals & prepayments, stock adjustments, fixed assets, and tax, all in accordance with the month end timetable.
• Preparation and review of monthly management information packs for Directors and Managers.
• Post month end, meet with certain Directors to review performance against budget and provide guidance as and when required.
• Support the Senior Finance Manager to ensure the delivery of revenue and capital budgets in accordance with budget timetable.
• Support the Senior Finance Manager in the preparation of the Annual Reports for both the Group and trading subsidiary.
• Own and drive real-time reporting and analytical insights.
• Carrying out ad hoc reporting where required by the Senior Finance Manager or Finance team.
• Take ownership of the company’s aged debt including effective credit control management.
• Take a lead role in developing the Finance teams reporting capabilities from our new Finance system – Access Financials and support wider data analysis across the business through our data warehouse - Analytics.
• Ownership for the Gift Aid process, including month submission and reconciliation.
• Undertaking daily/monthly monitoring of company financial information.
• Supporting the Senior Finance Manager in ensuring that appropriate internal financial controls exist across all departments.
• Preparation of various regulatory returns, including VAT and National Statistics.
• The successful candidate will be trained in other aspects of a busy Finance Office including Accounts Payable, Daily Sales, and Treasury, and will undertake these roles when the other Finance Assistants are on annual leave.
• Carrying out any other duties as may be requested from time to time by the Director of Finance & Administration, Senior Finance Manager and Finance Manager.
• Other ad-hoc duties as required.Accountability
• The Assistant Accountant is accountable to the Senior Finance Manager.Qualifications
• Good level of education with at least GCSE/Standard Grade/National 5 English &
Mathematics at Grade 1-3 or equivalent - Essential
• AAT Part Qualified or equivalent experience - DesirableExperience
• Basic understanding of accounting principles (debits & credits) - Essential
• Minimum of 2 years’ experience at Finance Assistant level or above - Essential
• Ability to use IT systems efficiency and effectively (MS Word, Excel) - Essential
• Experience of using accounting software (we use Access Financials) - Essential
• Ability to work with bespoke IT systems - Essential
• Excellent understanding of accounting principles - Desirable
• Relevant work experience in a similar organisation or background - DesirablePersonal Attributes
• Sound, consistent personal organisation and effective time management.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
• Ability to work effectively and participate fully within a team environment.
• Ability to provide accurate, relevant responses to both the Finance team and external parties.
• Manipulation and presentation of financial data to suit needs of varying recipients.
Personal QualitiesTo excel in this role, you will need strong communication skills, a keen eye for detail, good organisational abilities, and a positive, flexible approach to managing a busy and varied workload. It is also essential that you are passionate about delivering excellent internal service, and have a very good sense of humour!
If you feel you have the personality, skills and experience we are looking for, then we would love to hear from you.
How to Apply:
Please send your CV and a tailored covering letter outlining why you feel you would be suitable for the role of Assistant Accountant to:
No agencies please.
Please note, depending on the volume of applications we receive, we may be unable to respond to unsuccessful candidates. If you have been selected for interview, you will be contacted directly.