Senior Bookkeeper

An established and growing accountancy practice based in Witham, Essex, is looking to recruit an experienced and highly capable Bookkeeper to join their team. This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced bookkeeping professional who is looking for more than simply processing transactions. The successful candidate will take full ownership of the bookkeeping function for a portfolio of clients, managing the process from initial bookkeeping and invoicing through to reconciliations, payroll, CIS and ultimately to trial balance stage.

The practice is looking for someone with genuine end-to-end bookkeeping experience who understands not only how to complete the work, but also why the various processes and controls are important. Accuracy, attention to detail and the ability to identify discrepancies or potential issues before they become problems will be fundamental to the role.

Key Responsibilities:

• Managing the day-to-day bookkeeping for a portfolio of clients across a variety of sectors.
• Taking full ownership of client bookkeeping from initial transaction processing through to trial balance.
• Processing sales and purchase invoices and maintaining accurate sales and purchase ledgers.
• Bank, credit card and other balance sheet reconciliations.
• Posting and reviewing journals and ensuring transactions are correctly coded.
• Maintaining accurate and complete accounting records.
• Identifying and investigating discrepancies and correcting errors where necessary.
• Preparing and posting payroll journals and ensuring payroll-related transactions are correctly reflected within the accounts.
• Processing and overseeing payroll, where required.
• Managing the bookkeeping mechanics surrounding CIS (Construction Industry Scheme), including deductions, subcontractor records and associated postings.
• Understanding and accounting for different trading entities and structures, including sole traders, partnerships and limited companies.
• Dealing with VAT-related bookkeeping and ensuring records are complete and accurate in advance of VAT returns.
• Maintaining control accounts and ensuring balance sheet accounts are properly reconciled.
• Reviewing nominal ledgers and ensuring transactions are allocated correctly.
• Preparing client accounts and bookkeeping records to a high standard through to trial balance.
• Liaising with clients to obtain missing information, resolve queries and explain bookkeeping requirements where necessary.
• Managing multiple client deadlines simultaneously while maintaining a consistently high level of accuracy.
• Reviewing bookkeeping work to ensure that appropriate controls and processes have been followed.
• Identifying opportunities to improve efficiency and introduce more consistent ways of working.

As the role develops, the successful candidate will have the opportunity to take a much greater level of responsibility for the firm's bookkeeping division. This will include:

• Taking ownership of the overall bookkeeping function.
• Establishing and implementing standardised processes and controls across client accounts.
• Developing a consistent approach to bookkeeping across the practice.
• Reviewing existing procedures and identifying areas for improvement.
• Introducing appropriate bookkeeping checklists, review procedures and controls.
• Ensuring client files are maintained consistently and to the required standard.
• Helping to develop efficient workflows and systems for managing multiple client accounts.
• Potentially overseeing and supporting other members of the bookkeeping team as the function grows.
• Acting as the key point of responsibility for the quality and consistency of bookkeeping output.

The ideal candidate will have:

• Significant bookkeeping experience, ideally gained within an accountancy practice.
• Proven experience managing bookkeeping for multiple clients simultaneously.
• Strong technical understanding of the bookkeeping process from source transactions through to trial balance.
• Practical experience with invoicing, bank reconciliations, payroll, payroll journals and CIS.
• A good understanding of different trading entities and how their accounting requirements can differ.
• Experience preparing accurate and well-maintained accounts records ready for year-end accounts and tax work.
• Excellent attention to detail and a naturally methodical approach.
• A strong understanding of accounting controls and the importance of reconciliations.
• The confidence to investigate discrepancies rather than simply posting adjustments to make accounts balance.
• The ability to work independently and take ownership of client work.
• Excellent organisational skills and the ability to manage competing deadlines.
• Strong communication skills and the confidence to deal directly with clients.
• A proactive approach to identifying problems and improving processes.
• The ability to work to a consistently high standard, even when managing a varied portfolio of clients.

Experience with the following would be particularly advantageous:

• Practice-based bookkeeping.
• Sage, Xero, QuickBooks or other cloud accounting systems.
• Payroll software.
• CIS.
• VAT.
• Multiple trading entities.
• Month-end processes and journals.
• Preparation of bookkeeping to trial balance stage.
• Implementing bookkeeping processes, controls and standard operating procedures.

This is not simply a data-entry bookkeeping position. The successful candidate will need to be someone who genuinely understands the entire bookkeeping process and can take a set of client records, manage the bookkeeping from start to finish, identify what is missing or incorrect, reconcile the accounts and ultimately produce a clean, accurate and reliable trial balance.

The practice is particularly interested in someone who can bring experience and structure to the role and, in time, take ownership of the bookkeeping function as a whole.

Working Hours: The practice is flexible regarding working hours and will consider both full-time and part-time applications.