Business Description
A Bedfordshire based global engineering solutions company is seeking the skills of an experienced Accounts Assistant to come into the company and join the Finance Team on a 18 month maternity cover contract. Assignment Details

The Accounts Assistant will be a key member of the Finance Team and ensure that all aspects of the day to day accounting tasks including accounts payable are performed accurately and in a commercially effective and timely way.

Main Responsibilities

Accounts Payable Tasks:

• Process purchase invoices.
• Reconcile supplier accounts.
• Reconcile the inter-company account.
• First authorisation for Supplier payments.

Other Day to Day Accounting Tasks:

• Posting bank payments not automatically generated by the accounting system.
• Reconciling the bank account daily.
• Preparing weekly updated analysis of the debtor's report for the credit controller.
• Updating Cognos for the daily and weekly reporting.
• Management of any other issues that may come to light as a result of daily business activities that require support/resolution.

Month End Assistance:

• Monthly update of the Fixed Assets file.
• Prepayments and Accruals.
• Aged Creditor reports, analysis and reconciliation.
• Inter-company Reconciliation including resolving queries and obtaining statements.
• Process general journal entries.
• Responsible for various reports e.g. Legal spend submission.
• Uploading balances into Cognos using the group upload file.
• Preparing sales, margin and cost reports.
• Preparing Reconciliation sheets from final balances.

Assistance with Compliance matters:

• Preparing quarterly VAT returns.
• Intrastat Submissions.
• Audit & Tax information and requests.

Group Reporting Requirements:

• To ensure all relevant information and controls are maintained in line with group policy and appropriate approvals are obtained.

Skills Required

Qualifications and Experience:

• Experience at Accounts Assistant and/or Accounts Payable level required.
• A finance, accounts or relevant qualification beneficial or working towards e.g. AAT.
• Someone who can build good relationships with the suppliers as well as the wider business.
• Someone who is prepared to put in the hours necessary to meet deliverable targets or at key reporting times.
• Strong support work ethic.
• Commercial awareness.
• Able to consider the wider implications of decisions.
• Strong character who is willing to challenge where necessary in order to ensure compliance with policies/procedures.
• Team player who is comfortable working in a small team environment and also as part of a wider group structure.
• Needs to be 'hands-on' with transactional processing.
• IT literate.

Leadership Behaviours:

• A passion for continuous learning and development.
• Excellent and proven interpersonal and influencing skills.
• Intellectual strength and a high level of drive and personal commitment.
• Working well under pressure, and engaging at all levels of the organisation both internally and externally.
• Ability to make and accept challenges positively and debate confidently.
• Credible with peers and able to demonstrate added value.
• Ability to demonstrate problem solving, a driver of continuous improvement.
• Able to work across the organisation globally and with cultural sensitivity.
• Good business acumen, ability to interpret financial data and make well informed sound business decisions.
• Determined to overcome unexpected obstacles to get to the right solution.
• Deliver on promises, do what he/she says they will do, when they say they will do it.
• High degree of integrity, always prepared to do the right thing.