Career Legal
Senior Financial Accountant
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
Job Title: Senior Financial Accountant
About the Firm
Our client is one of the leading law firms in the Southeast, and one of the oldest law firms in operation in the world, with over 140 fee earners. Their specialist practice areas include Commercial, Corporate, Employment, Construction, Real Estate, and Agriculture & Rural Affairs.
Role Overview
The Senior Financial Accountant is responsible for ensuring the integrity, accuracy, and robustness of the firm’s financial reporting and financial control environment.
Responsibilities
-
Financial Record Management
- Maintain the integrity of the firm’s financial records and ensure accurate and timely financial reporting through effective management of the general ledger and balance sheet.
- Lead the preparation of the firm’s statutory accounts and manage the annual external audit process.
- Take ownership of partner financial accounts, including capital balances, current accounts, drawings, and tax reserves.
- Enhance the quality of financial insight through detailed variance analysis and support of management reporting.
- Support the improvement of financial processes, reporting systems, and financial controls.
- Support delivery of the monthly financial close process.
- Review and post complex accounting journals including accruals, prepayments, and adjustments.
- Maintain the integrity of the general ledger and underlying accounting records.
- Ensure timely and accurate completion of balance sheet reconciliations.
- Investigate and resolve reconciling items.
- Prepare supporting financial schedules for the monthly management accounts.
- Support the Finance Manager with financial commentary and analysis.
-
Balance Sheet Integrity & Financial Controls
- Maintain strong financial controls over the firm’s balance sheet accounts.
- Ensure all balance sheet accounts are reconciled monthly.
- Review reconciliations prepared by the Financial Accountant.
- Investigate unusual balances or movements.
- Maintain supporting documentation for key financial balances.
- Perform detailed variance analysis against budget, forecast, and prior year.
- Investigate material movements in revenue, costs, and profitability.
- Support preparation of financial commentary for the management accounts pack.
- Assist the Finance Manager and CFO in analyzing departmental profitability.
- Support ad-hoc financial analysis and reporting requests.
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
- Statutory Accounts and Audit Coordination
- Lead the preparation of the firm’s annual statutory accounts.
- Prepare supporting schedules and working papers for the audit.
- Act as the primary contact for external auditors during the audit process.
- Coordinate responses to audit queries.
- Manage the audit timetable and ensure deadlines are met.
- Support the preparation of information required for the partnership tax computation.
- Maintain accurate records of partner capital contributions and capital balances.
- Maintain partner current account balances including profit allocations, drawings, and adjustments.
- Ensure accurate recording of partner drawings and distributions.
- Maintain records of partner tax reserve balances, including tax reserve allocations and releases.
- Assist in the preparation of year-end partner profit allocations.
- Support financial administration relating to new partners, partner retirements or departures, capital adjustments, and changes in profit sharing arrangements.
- Provide backup support for payroll processing where required.
- Review payroll journals and ensure correct posting within the accounting system.
- Support the reconciliation of payroll-related accounts including pensions and PAYE.
- Identify opportunities to improve financial processes and reporting.
- Support improvements to financial reporting systems and automation.
- Assist with finance system upgrades or enhancements.
- Document financial processes and internal controls.
- Provide guidance and oversight to the Financial Accountant.
- Work collaboratively with the wider finance function including the Commercial Finance Accountant, Credit Control, and Cashiering teams.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
Candidate Profile
- Experience preparing LLP statutory accounts and supporting external audits.
- Experience managing balance sheet reconciliations and financial controls.
- Experience within a professional service or law firm environment desirable.
- Experience with partnership accounting or partner balance management desirable.
- Strong financial reporting and general ledger expertise.
- Advanced Excel skills including pivot tables and data analysis.
- Experience working with accounting and practice management systems.
- ACA, ACCA, or CIMA qualified (or equivalent).
- Strong technical accounting knowledge including UK GAAP / FRS 102.
Important Notice
It is Career Legal’s policy, as a matter of courtesy, to respond to all applications within three working days. However, because of the volume of applications, we are sometimes unable to respond to individual candidates. If we have not contacted you within three working days, your application has been unsuccessful and your details have not been retained. Please apply for any other position that you may see in the future. Thank you.
Career Legal is a Recruitment Agency and is advertising this permanent vacancy on behalf of one of its clients.
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills