Assistant Accountant - Maternity Cover in Newtownabbey

Your new company Hays Accountancy & Finance are working exclusively with an established and successful Northern Ireland business to recruit a Senior Assistant Accountant on a fixed-term basis to cover maternity leave.This is an excellent opportunity to join a well-established organisation with a supportive working environment and a busy finance function. You will work closely with senior finance leadership, taking responsibility for key month-end processes and helping to ensure accurate and timely financial reporting. Your new role As Senior Assistant Accountant, you will take ownership of a broad range of accounting responsibilities, with a particular focus on the month-end process through to Trial Balance.Your responsibilities will include: Maintaining the general ledger and ensuring transactions are accurately recorded Preparing and reviewing journals, accruals and prepayments Completing monthly balance sheet and bank reconciliations Maintaining fixed asset registers and depreciation schedules Preparing monthly accounts through to Trial Balance Reviewing ledger balances and investigating discrepancies Posting payroll journals and reconciling relevant control accounts Preparing VAT returns and supporting reconciliations Producing month-end supporting schedules and financial information Assisting with year-end and external audit requirements Supporting reporting requests and finance process improvements Working with colleagues across the wider business to ensure accurate financial information and appropriate accounting treatment This is a hands-on accounting position without staff management responsibilities, making it particularly suited to someone who enjoys taking ownership of their own workload and delivering accurate financial information. What you'll need to succeed To be successful in this position, you will have a strong grounding in transactional and financial accounting and be confident managing month-end activities with limited supervision.Ideally, you will be AAT qualified, ACCA/CIMA part-qualified, QBE, or able to demonstrate equivalent practical accounting experience.You should also have: Strong double-entry bookkeeping knowledge Previous experience preparing accounts through to Trial Balance Good experience with accruals, prepayments and balance sheet reconciliations Strong Microsoft Excel skills, ideally including PivotTables, XLOOKUP and data analysis Previous experience using Sage or a similar accounting package Excellent attention to detail and organisational skills The ability to manage deadlines and work independently Experience with VAT returns, payroll reconciliations, job costing, audit preparation or working in an operational/service-led environment would be advantageous but is not essential. What you'll get in return £30,000-£38,000 per year 15 month maternity contract On site parking Office based Pension Health Insurance Death in service benefits Paid Holidays A supportive and friendly working culture What you need to do now If you're interested in this role, click 'apply now' to forward an up-to-date copy of your CV, or call us now. If this job isn't quite right for you, but you are looking for a new position, please contact us for a confidential discussion about your career. Hays Specialist Recruitment Limited acts as an employment agency for permanent recruitment and employment business for the supply of temporary workers. By applying for this job you accept the T&C's, Privacy Policy and Disclaimers which can be found at hays.co.uk