Assistant Statutory Accountant

• Equals Money is a fast-growing, regulated payments business on a mission to make money movement simple
• As Assistant Statutory Accountant you will work with the Head of Financial Reporting to prepare the group's year-end statutory accounts, deliver a smooth, well-evidenced external audit, deliver on the more technical aspects of the monthly management accounts (consolidations, intercompany, tax, IFRS 16 leases, MIP/EBT share schemes) supporting full tax compliance across multiple jurisdictions in partnership with our external advisors (Corporation Tax, VAT, Transfer Pricing, MSAs), and supporting the delivery of the Finance function's risk and control environment
• This is a role with real breadth. You will work across statutory reporting, group consolidation, audit and tax compliance in a multi-entity, regulated group - the kind of exposure that is hard to find outside a top practice, with the ownership that comes from being in the business rather than auditing it
• Reporting to the Head of Financial Reporting, you will be given genuine ownership of your own entities and workstreams from the outset, with the technical support and review to take on more as the group grows
• Prepare the technical elements of the monthly management accounts for review by the Head of Financial Reporting: group consolidation, the intercompany matrix, expected credit loss assessment, tax expense and deferred tax, VAT treatment, IFRS 16 lease accounting, and MIP and EBT share incentive accounting
• Help keep the general ledger to a statutory reporting standard throughout the year, so that the year end is confirmation rather than construction
• Maintain the schedules that sit behind each technical area - lease registers, share scheme records, deferred tax workings and expected credit loss models - so they roll forward cleanly each month rather than being rebuilt from scratch
• Flag new transactions, movements or judgements that change a technical position as soon as you see them, rather than at the year end
• Prepare year-end statutory accounts for a defined group of entities, working directly in NetSuite, for review by the Head of Financial Reporting
• Apply IFRS correctly to the entities you own, identifying judgemental areas early and documenting your conclusions clearly enough to stand up to review
• Prepare supporting schedules, disclosure notes and analysis for inclusion in the statutory financial statements, to a standard that requires minimal rework
• Gather and collate information from across Finance and the wider business, chasing outstanding items and keeping a clear record of what is complete and what is outstanding
• Maintain the statutory accounts working paper file so that there is a clean, traceable link from the general ledger through to the published accounts
• Help maintain entity-level records and support the accurate closing of each entity within the year-end timetable
• Monitor new and emerging accounting standards, researching the likely impact on the group for the Head of Financial Reporting to conclude on
• Support the preparation of lender reporting information and covenant calculations, and help document and account for capital flows across the group such as dividends and intercompany loans
• Prepare audit deliverables and respond to auditor sample requests accurately and promptly, escalating anything you cannot resolve
• Act as the day-to-day point of contact for the external audit team on the entities you own, resolving queries yourself and escalating only what genuinely needs it
• Track the status of open audit requests and keep the Head of Financial Reporting sighted on progress and blockers
• Help pull together the audit file and management representation support ahead of fieldwork
• Support the interim audit work carried out in the autumn, and the half-year procedures over the June numbers, as well as the main year-end audit
• Support the preparation of draft statutory accounts ahead of the financial year end, so that the group audit can complete by the end of March and the other legal entities by the end of April
• Prepare and review balance sheet reconciliations and supporting analysis for the entities in scope
• Investigate and resolve reconciling items, escalating unusual or ageing items appropriately
• Prepare intercompany reconciliations and support the group consolidation process
• Maintain accurate, well-organised documentation so that work can be picked up and reviewed by someone else without explanation
• Help keep the working paper file in a state where it could be handed to a lender, investor or acquirer at short notice, not only to the auditors
• Prepare the underlying data and supporting analysis for Corporation Tax and VAT returns, for review by the Head of Financial Reporting and our external tax advisors
• Support the maintenance of the group's tax compliance calendar, tracking deadlines and flagging anything at risk
• Support tax compliance across every jurisdiction in which Equals operates, not only the UK
• Support Transfer Pricing documentation and the intercompany management service agreements, gathering and preparing the data needed to evidence the group's position
• Provide general support to the wider financial reporting and compliance agenda as the group grows
• Support the Head of Financial Reporting in maintaining the financial risk register, keeping risk descriptions, ratings, controls and action plans current
• Gather and file the evidence that shows key financial controls have operated, so that control effectiveness can be demonstrated rather than asserted
• Track remediation actions against their target dates and chase the owners where they are slipping
• Support internal audit reviews by pulling together the information requested by the Chief Internal Auditor
• Take ownership of your professional development - completing your qualification if you are part-qualified, and building technical depth in group reporting once you are
• Suggest and implement improvements to the schedules, templates and processes you work with - small improvements, consistently made, are genuinely valued here
• Make use of the automation and AI tools the Finance function is adopting, so that your time goes into understanding the numbers rather than assembling them
• Become a genuine power user of NetSuite, so that schedules and reports are produced from the system rather than rebuilt in Excel each period
• Key relationships:
• The role sits within Finance and works most closely with the Head of Financial Reporting, who will review your work and develop you. You will also work regularly with the management accounting team, the entity finance teams, and the Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable and Payroll Managers on information needed for reporting. You will also work with FP&A and Treasury on lender reporting and capital flows
• Externally, you will have regular day-to-day contact with the group's external auditors during the audit cycle, and regular contact with our external tax advisors on Corporation Tax, VAT and Transfer Pricing

Benefits

• Contributory pension
• Life assurance
• Health insurance through BUPA
• Our Employee Assistance Programme offers a 24/7 confidential advice line for health, bereavement and other areas of support
• 25 days holiday per year + your birthday off
• We are members of the cycle to work scheme
• We offer Season Ticket Loans
• Free onsite Nuffield Health gym & pool (London) and discounted gym membership elsewhere
• Interbank currency rates on travel money and international transfers
• Opportunities for progression, development and learning new skills

We are looking for a qualified accountant, or a part-qualified accountant who expects to complete their final exams within the next twelve monthsQualified accountant (ACA, ACCA or CIMA). We will also consider strong part-qualified candidates who expect to complete their final exams within the next twelve months, and full study support is providedWilling to learn - you take feedback well and act on itDependable - when you say something is done, it is doneExposure to group consolidation, multi-entity reporting or financial services is an advantageAble to hold several deadlines at once across month end, year end and the audit, and keep all of them movingAccurate - you check your own work before it reaches someone else's deskOrganised - you can hold multiple open requests and know exactly where each one standsA sound working knowledge of IFRS, with the confidence to apply them to a real situation and document your reasoningCurious - you ask why a number is what it is, rather than simply reporting itTechnically confident - you form a view, document it, and can defend it to a reviewer or an auditorPractical experience in a statutory reporting, financial accounting or external audit role, gained either in practice or in industryStrong Excel skills; experience of an ERP-based general ledger such as NetSuite is an advantageComfortable with technical depth - you would rather understand IFRS 16 or deferred tax properly than find a way to work around itComfortable working across multiple legal entities and currencies, including foreign currency translation on consolidationExposure to Corporation Tax and VAT compliance, and an appetite to build broader tax knowledge across multiple jurisdictions