WHAT DOES A FINANCE ACCOUNTANT DO?

Published: Mar 11, 2025 - The Finance Accountant assists with the annual preparation of consolidated partnership and LLP accounts and prepares annual accounts for various group entities, including tax deconsolidation. Coordinating with auditors to meet financial reporting deadlines and repares detailed financial analyses for tax computations. Ensures accurate reflection of audit adjustments in accounting ledgers, supports quarterly balance sheet reconciliations for LLP and international offices.

A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Finance Accountant

1. Finance Accountant Duties

  • Analytical Focusing: Focus on revenue recognition, expense analysis, accruals and prepayments, and tax in particular.
  • Timeliness Preparation: Prepare first-draft monthly management reporting packs for NMUK and NMIRE on a timely basis.
  • Collaborative Review: Review these results with the functional teams so that they take ownership of individual cost centre P&Ls, including a rolling reforecast if adjustments need to be made to the annual budget.
  • Comparative Analysis: Perform in-depth cost centre analysis of actuals vs budget and financial analysis of KPIs.
  • Expense Analysis: Conduct in-depth analysis of staff expenses.
  • Audit Liaison: Act as day-to-day liaison during annual audit processes for NMUK and NMIRE, preparing audit samples and fielding questions from the auditors.
  • Support Provision: Ensure timely responses and delivery of supporting files to enable a smooth audit process.
  • Tax Coordination: Liaise day-to-day with external tax administrators in the preparation of NMUK and NMIRE corporation tax returns, including the provision of information.
  • VAT Reconciliation: Reconcile all NMUK and NMIRE VAT nominals on a monthly basis and prepare the associated VAT returns.
  • VAT Response: Prepare supporting information in response to any VAT enquiries from local tax authorities.
  • Fee Coordination: Prepare NMUK and NMIRE Management fee workings and coordinate with the UK&I AA to raise and settle these, following management approval.
  • Document Review: Conduct first-level review of working papers prepared by an outsourced accountancy provider for UK&I properties under management, including balance sheet recs on a sample basis and monthly and quarterly NOI reporting packs.
  • Service Improvement: Join the UK&I FM in feedback sessions with the outsourced accountancy service provider to continually improve the quality and timeliness of NOI reporting for Irish portfolios.
  • Financial Analysis: Assist the UK&I FM with the analysis of property financial performance, including the preparation of commentary for inclusion in NOI reporting packs.
  • Site Visitation: Undertake periodic visits to UK&I properties at least quarterly, on a rotational basis, to understand the challenges faced by site teams, including gaps in understanding.
  • Process Recommendation: Prepare summaries from these visits with recommendations for process improvements or training requirements.
  • Documentation Development: Assist the UK&I FM in the development of a comprehensive suite of process documentation, with input from the outsourced accountancy service provider.
  • Process Strengthening: Strengthen the internal processes so that the functional teams use purchase orders consistently and code expenses to an appropriate nominal and subnominal budget in the chart of accounts.
  • Budget Assistance: Assist in the preparation of annual budgets, rolling reforecasts, and cash flow management.

2. Finance Accountant Details

  • Reporting Establishment: Establish and maintain appropriate and accurate Management reporting for six Trinity European entities in Belgium, Ireland, France, the Netherlands, and Germany, ensuring controls and systems are implemented and adopted to maintain proper books and records.
  • Reconciliation Maintenance: Maintain Monthly multi-currency Balance sheet Reconciliations, ensuring that sales and purchase ledgers, Accruals, Prepayments and Fixed Assets are properly and accurately maintained and reconciled.
  • Payroll Management: Manage and prepare European monthly Payroll reporting, working as main point of contact with HR.
  • Process Improvement: Strive for improvement by identifying and recommending reporting process and systems improvements.
  • Compliance Preparation: Prepare and submit all necessary statutory returns not limited to the preparation of statutory accounts for audit, VAT Declarations, Payroll Reconciliation working closely with external service providers.
  • Audit Collaboration: Collaborate with auditors in relation to the preparation and audit of annual statutory accounts and other related matters.
  • Tax Coordination: Work closely with tax consultants to ensure all tax-planning arrangements are properly implemented.
  • Capital Management: Manage all capital expenditure and fleet management.
  • Reporting Support: Support the Financial Controller in preparation of reports presented to key stakeholders, including board members.
  • Accounting Support: Act as the main contact for financial accounting support for corporate centre within the financial control team.
  • Process Driving: Work with the wider financial accounting team to continually drive process improvements and standards in financial control across the Group.
  • Quality Control: Produce a variety of high-quality balance sheet control account reconciliations for the corporate centre, ensuring that robust control of the corporate balance sheet is maintained.
  • Statutory Coordination: Produce statutory accounts for various Group subsidiaries including co-ordination of tax pack info.
  • Report Production: Support the production of the Group's annual accounts at interim and year-end.
  • Finance Reporting: Produce monthly finance pack for in-house self-insurance team.
  • Technical Guidance: Provided technical accounting guidance for ad-hoc queries raised by businesses.

3. Finance Accountant Responsibilities

  • Accounting Assistance: Assist in the preparation of the annual consolidated partnership accounts and LLP accounts.
  • Account Preparation: Prepare annual accounts for the various other partnerships and companies within the group, including the deconsolidated tax accounts.
  • Auditor Liaison: Liaise with auditors and ensure that financial reporting deadlines are met.
  • Tax Analysis: Prepare detailed analyses from the financial accounts for tax computation purposes.
  • Audit Accuracy: Ensure that audit entries/adjustments are accurately reflected in the accounting ledgers.
  • Reconciliation Assistance: Assist in the preparation of quarterly reconciliations of all balance sheet accounts for the LLP and registered overseas offices.
  • Operations Management: Responsible for ad hoc tasks related to overseas operations, e.g., payroll, VAT returns, arrangement of payments.
  • Account Reconciliation: Reconcile the individual partners' current, capital, and tax accounts and ensure that all recharges for insurances and loan capital interest are recorded accurately.
  • Process Upkeep: Ensure that the team processes and procedures manual is up-to-date.
  • Financial Execution: Prepare and execute monthly drawings and quarterly distributions.
  • Ledger Assistance: Assist in the clean-up of ledger balances within the accounting system.
  • Cash Flow Preparation: Prepare the budget cash flow and monthly cash flow analysis.
  • Control Analysis: Responsible for collating and analyzing quarterly control checklists from international offices.
  • Capital Arrangement: Responsible for arranging partner capital loans and the annual capital movements (additional borrowings/repayments).
  • Model Preparation: Prepare financial models for new office proposals and new partner recruitment and providing quarterly lateral recruitment performance reports.
  • Account Management: Prepare monthly management accounts for new offices in conjunction with the management accounts team.
  • Report Production: Produce the WIP by matter partner report at year end for statutory accounts purposes.
  • Team Support: Provide cover and assistance to the Management Accounts team.
  • Balance Sheet Production: Produce Consolidated Group balance sheet for management accounts pack every month.
  • Project Work: Work on ad hoc projects as required by the Group FC and Finance Director.
  • Audit Coordination: Prepare the accounts and coordinate the audit for Dentons and Middle East Charitable Trust.

4. Finance Accountant Accountabilities

  • Service Provision: Provide a high-quality accounting service to the Firm, be responsive to the changing needs and priorities of the department, and provide ad hoc support to departmental colleagues as needed.
  • Collaborative Working: Work closely with the Financial Accountants, Assistant Accountant, and the Accounts Payable team.
  • P&L Preparation: Prepare monthly P&Ls - Departmental Contribution Statements / Overhead Statements / Firm Profit & Loss statements / P&L reconciliations.
  • Variance Analysis: Conduct critical variance analysis of performance against budget and prior year of firm's costs.
  • Managerial Liaison: Liaise with Business Operations managers to improve understanding of financial performance along with the preparation of monthly departmental reports.
  • Department Management: Responsible for IT and Central Business Services departments, ensuring accurate reporting of costs and identifying variances to budget.
  • Balance Sheet Management: Prepare monthly balance sheet and reconciliations and responsibility for managing asset leasing schedule.
  • Budget Preparation: Prepare cost and overhead budgets.
  • Full Accounting: Take full responsibility for the accounting of MDR Discover LLP, including reconciliations, monthly management accounts, quarterly VAT returns, and annual accounts preparation.
  • Expense Review: Review weekly supplier/employee expenses payment runs, ensuring appropriate authorisation and coding of invoices and expense claims.
  • Audit Assistance: Assist in the preparation of Annual LLP Accounts for audit review, liaising with auditors to provide additional analysis.
  • Ad-hoc Response: Respond to ad-hoc information requests and perform ad-hoc data analysis.
  • Process Enhancement: Input and recommendations to enhance current processes/systems/reporting methods.

5. Finance Accountant Functions

  • Statutory Support: Support the Financial Controller in the production of the statutory accounts.
  • Operational Responsibility: Responsible for day-to-day Finance and Accounts operations.
  • Cashflow Management: Responsible for the production of a timely and accurate weekly cashflow forecast.
  • Payment Authorization: Authorize weekly payment runs, liaise with AP to resolve queries and ensure the prompt payment of vendors, in line with cashflow forecast.
  • Service Support: Support the Shared Services Centre with Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivable.
  • Knowledge Development: Develop and maintain an appropriate level of knowledge within the assigned areas.
  • HMRC Correspondence: Correspond with HMRC on matters such as VAT, CCG, and SIVA.
  • VAT Support: Support the Financial Controller in the completion of the quarterly VAT return, Intrastat, and EC Sales.
  • Knowledge Maintenance: Develop and maintain an appropriate level of knowledge within the assigned areas.
  • Stock Assistance: Assist with all stocktaking activity, which may require some travel.
  • Audit Liaison: Liaise directly with the auditors for the Group and Statutory Accounts audit, producing relevant supporting documentation.
  • Process Coordination: Coordinate and work to improve the financial processes under responsibility within the finance team and other relevant departments (robustness, simplification, and harmonization).
  • Process Improvement: Contribute in an active way to the improvement of the finance processes.
  • Budget Support: Support the production of the Budget and forecasts.
  • Invoice Sale: Manage the sale of customer invoices and the corresponding reconciliation and journals.
  • Credit Maintenance: Maintain the Customer Credit Limits schedule, monitoring with credit insurance and rating agencies.
  • Lease Updating: Update the lease register and complete the monthly journal, ensuring that any new lease transactions are compliant with standard.

6. Finance Accountant Job Description

  • Statutory Preparation: Prepare the year-end statutory financial accounts for subsidiaries, including disclosures for 25+ group entities.
  • Consolidation Review: Prepare and review consolidations.
  • Year-end Support: Support the year-end close and process year-end adjustments.
  • Group Reporting: Prepare year-end Group reporting and liaise with external auditors.
  • Technical Analysis: Perform technical accounting analyses and adopt new financial reporting standards.
  • M&A Accounting: Account for new acquisitions, mergers, and group restructuring.
  • Investment Accounting: Account for investments in foreign subsidiaries.
  • GAAP Management: Manage, in coordination with the accounting team, GAAP/Italian accounting.
  • Month-end Management: Work actively to ensure the month-end closing according to GAAP.
  • SOX Compliance: In accordance with SOX, complete the reconciliation of the assigned balance sheet accounts.
  • Statutory Collaboration: In collaboration with a local consultant, prepare the annual Statutory Accounts.
  • VAT Preparation: Prepare VAT declarations.
  • Tax Collaboration: Collaborate on the preparation of the monthly corporate income tax payments (CIT) and year-end tax return with the support of external Tax Advisors.
  • Auditor Liaison: Be the primary contact of external auditors, tax auditors, and work council on ad hoc requests.

7. Finance Accountant Overview

  • Business Partnering: Provides business partnering to the Customer, Operations, and Portfolio teams and other cross-functional areas involved in Holidays, ensuring that the business owners are supported with the right insight and information at all times.
  • Process Review: Review business processes to identify efficiencies and improvement opportunities, supporting the business to deliver them.
  • Confidence Driving: Drive confidence in numbers and provide insight into risks and opportunities.
  • Financial Development: Develop end-to-end financial processes, ensuring appropriate controls are in place across easyJet Holidays, easyJet group functions, and third-party suppliers.
  • System Mastery: Build a strong understanding of the accounting systems and core holidays reservations system.
  • Accounting Management: Handled month-end accounting and journal posting.
  • Balance Reconciliation: Reconcile balance sheet accounts in a timely manner with supporting schedules and thorough understanding of the balance sheet position, managing risk and opportunities with the business.
  • Variance Analysis: Develop an analysis to understand the drivers of variances.
  • Financial Reporting: Produce monthly financial results presentations for the Holidays board.
  • Improvement Identification: Identify and drive continuous improvement opportunities in the end-to-end financial process.
  • Relationship Maintenance: Maintain effective cross-functional relationships.
  • Expertise Provision: Provide subject matter expertise to a diverse and demanding set of stakeholders.

8. Finance Accountant Details and Accountabilities

  • Statutory Preparation: Annual statutory accounts preparation.
  • Consolidation Reconciliation: Annual consolidation reporting reconciliations.
  • Financial Reporting: Monthly financial statement and journal postings.
  • Compliance Support: Support the monthly control accounts review process to ensure compliance with IFRS.
  • Pension Reporting: Pension scheme monthly accounts and reporting on the pension scheme costs and performance.
  • Scheme Accounting: Annual statutory accounts preparation for the scheme.
  • Governance Reporting: Quarterly and annual governance reporting for the pensions trustee board.
  • Equity Reporting: Quarterly reporting on Equity position and investment impairment reviews.
  • Dividend Analysis: Annual dividend feasibility analysis.
  • Cash Reporting: Monthly reporting on group consolidated cash position.
  • Audit Liaison: Point of contact for internal and external auditors on postings in areas of responsibility.
  • Pension Audit Contact: Key contact in the pension scheme annual audits.
  • Standards Compliance: Ensuring compliance with Accounting Standards, both GAAP and IFRS.

9. Junior Finance Accountant Tasks

  • Invoice Processing: Process incoming invoices from suppliers (accounting booking into local accounting system Expert after approval from each Business Line).
  • Customer Invoicing: Process invoices issued to customers, which are done with an external app (Evo) for domestic and external clients.
  • Fiscal Relations: Maintain relations with Fiscal Authorities for deposit and withdrawal documents, statements when necessary.
  • Payment Allocation: Book into accounting system allocation of payments to suppliers and allocation of cash collected from customers.
  • Finance Support: Support colleagues with any task related to Finance jobs: account reconciliation, confirmation, etc.
  • Account Reconciliation: Review and reconcile payables, receivables, and bank accounts, and ensure all outstanding items are solved promptly.
  • Closing Support: Support monthly, quarterly, and annual closing in accordance with relevant regulatory requirements, e.g., IFRS, USGAAP, or HGB.
  • Payment Preparation: Prepare payment requests, journal entries, and other adjustments.
  • Report Preparation: Prepare documentation, special studies, and reports for departments and organizations.
  • Correspondence Drafting: Draft correspondence to appropriate parties regarding any differences that require investigation or further action.
  • Accounting Coordination: Coordinate accounting matters with other departments, locations, and divisions.

10. Junior Finance Accountant Roles

  • Contract Accuracy: Ensures accuracy and completeness of contracts, service level agreements, supplier invoices, supplier’s official receipts, COR, ATP, company official receipts, and billing invoices.
  • VAT Compliance: Chase the supplier and company’s point of contact to comply with VAT refund requirements.
  • Tax Liaison: Point of contact for tax consultants, including but not limited to coordinating and monitoring the timeline and activities before the due date of filing the VAT refund.
  • Document Provision: Provides all requested information/documents needed by the tax consultants.
  • Document Assistance: Assists the tax consultants in reviewing the company documents. Findings made by the tax consultants should be coordinated and complied with.
  • Process Liaison: Liaise with the line manager, management, tax consultants, or BIR with regard to the requirements or clarifying questions or processes relevant to the VAT refund initiative.
  • Process Suggestion: Suggest process improvement that will facilitate efficiency in collating documents required for the VAT refund.
  • Schedule Maintenance: Maintain schedules and working papers to support the VAT refund.
  • Reconciliation Preparation: Prepares BS recs (VAT, Withholding taxes, Income Tax, Fringe Benefits Tax, etc).
  • Payment Accuracy: Releases check payments to ensure accuracy of OR. Reviews and files the completeness of new supplier setup.
  • Document Review: Reviews Alphalist, Monthly VAT, and Quarterly VAT to match with actual documents.
  • Document Facilitation: Facilitates photocopying of vendor invoices and all documents pertinent to the VAT refund requirements.
  • Statutory Coordination: Coordinates with BIR, SEC & consultants for statutory requirements (business permit, CAS registration & LOA).
  • Audit Assistance: Assists the auditors with yearly audits.
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