Shoosmiths
Partnership Accountant (18 Month FTC)
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The Role
The Partnership Accountant is responsible for the end-to-end management of partner financial arrangements within a professional services LLP. This includes partner remuneration, drawings, capital accounts, tax reserves, and reporting, ensuring accuracy, compliance with the LLP Agreement, and clear communication with partners and senior stakeholders.
Key Responsibilities
Partner Remuneration & Distributions
- Calculate and process monthly partner drawings and quarterly distributions
- Support annual profit allocation processes in line with the LLP Agreement
- Maintain and update partner remuneration schedules, including fixed and performance-related elements
- Prepare and issue individual remuneration statements and summaries
- Forecast partner profit distributions and associated tax payments to support cashflow planning and partner communications
- Administer partner annuity arrangements, including calculation, processing, and payment of annuity obligations
Partner Accounts Management
- Maintain accurate records of capital, current, and tax reserve accounts
- Manage partner capital contributions, repayments, and funding arrangements, including liaising with the firm’s partner capital loan providers
- Monitor balances and ensure compliance with the LLP Agreement
- Oversee reconciliations between underlying schedules and the general ledger/system
Tax Reserve & Partner Tax Support
- Maintain partner tax payment schedules
- Coordinate payments to HMRC on behalf of partners
- Act as liaison with external tax advisers and support partner tax queries
- Provide clear explanations of tax positions to partners and third parties where required
- Provide detailed schedules of personal expenditure and adjustments to external tax advisers to enable accurate uplift of individual taxable profits
- Undertake salaried member/disguised remuneration testing to ensure compliance with UK tax legislation and HMRC requirements
Financial Reporting & Analysis
- Prepare detailed partner-related reporting for audit
- Support year-end processes and audit queries relating to partner balances
- Prepare and analyse gender pay gap and related partnership reporting, ensuring accuracy and alignment with internal requirements
- Support business planning for team hires and other business change activities
Partner Lifecycle Management
- Contribute to onboarding new partners (capital, drawings, tax briefings)
- Manage retirements and exits (final accounts, capital repayment, annuity calculations)
- Prepare financial illustrations for prospective and retiring partners
- Prepare and issue mortgage reference letters and other financial confirmations for partners and third parties
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Governance, Compliance & Systems
- Ensure all processes are aligned to LLP Agreement, internal policies, and regulatory requirements
- Maintain strong audit trails and documentation
- Support improvements to systems and processes
- Safeguard confidentiality of sensitive partner financial data
- Oversee the allocation of Gift Aid contributions and manage liaison with the Charities Aid Foundation, ensuring accurate recording and reporting
Stakeholder Management
- Act as a trusted contact for partners on remuneration and financial matters
- Liaise with senior leadership including the Chair of the firm, tax teams, external advisers, and audit teams
- Communicate complex financial concepts clearly and concisely
Essential Skills & Experience
- Strong experience in partnership accounting / LLP environment
- Good understanding of partner remuneration structures, capital and current accounts, and UK tax fundamentals
- Advanced Excel skills and financial modelling capability
- High attention to detail with strong reconciliation ability
- Ability to handle confidential and sensitive information
- Credibility and confidence in discussions with partners and advisers
Desirable
- Exposure to partner tax processes and external advisers in a Multi Entity/Jurisdictional environment
- International/ Group exposure
- Knowledge of financial systems (preferably SAP)
- Understanding of LLP agreements and governance frameworks
Personal Attributes
- Highly organised and process-driven
- A self-starter with confidence to consult appropriately with others when required
- Strong communication skills with senior stakeholders
- Proactive and solution-focused
- Able to manage competing deadlines
- Commercially aware with a focus on accuracy and risk mitigation
The Firm
Shoosmiths is the law firm clients choose for excellent service, incisive thinking, and above all, for our ability to focus on what matters. From offices across the UK and Brussels, we support some of the world’s most exciting and ambitious businesses; amazing clients making an impact. We empower our people to be their authentic selves and deliver together in supportive teams committed to excellence and innovation. The first top 50 law firm to achieve ‘Platinum Standard’ Investors in People, our values and culture are not just words on our website but are the heartbeat of the firm.
We have an outstanding benefits package to complement our competitive remuneration system. In addition to the competitive salaries, great working environment, and high-quality work, we believe that all staff should be rewarded for their commitment to the continued success of the firm through a comprehensive and flexible range of benefits.
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To discover more about our benefits, please visit: Benefits Package
Disability Confident Employer
Shoosmiths is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. Disability Confident is a government scheme designed to encourage employers to recruit and retain disabled people and those with long-term conditions. The Disability Confident scheme replaced the Two Ticks Positive about Disabled People scheme. We had been accredited as a two tick employer for many years - Disability Confident broadens and develops that original commitment, and demonstrates we have adopted a proactive approach to employing disabled people and developing their abilities.
As part of our accreditation, we commit to interviewing any applicants with a disability who meet the essential criteria for each vacancy. In some circumstances, we may only be able to interview those that best meet the essential criteria due to the volume of applications received.
Further information on the Disability Confident scheme is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/disability-confident-campaign
We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible to and usable by everyone. If you have a disability or long-term condition and would like to receive information in a different way, or need us to make any adjustments, changes, or do anything differently during the recruitment process, please get in touch with the Talent Acquisition team on Experienced.Hire@shoosmiths.com. We can consider your needs and requirements, and how we can assist you to apply for our roles. For example, we can provide a copy of our application via email so that you can complete it using your own accessibility software.
Equal Opportunities
Our approach to our people is underpinned by our approach to diversity, inclusion, and well-being. Our ambition is to build a diverse and ambitious workforce that reflects all backgrounds and talents, and a workplace that is supportive and inclusive, recognises and nurtures talent, and has a strong sense of community between colleagues.
This means that everyone who either applies to or works for the firm is treated equally, whatever their gender, age, ethnic origin, nationality, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, or religious beliefs.
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