Senior Accountant

Profile.

Education / Qualification

Studying CIMA

First Class Honours in Marine Biology

A Levels in Maths, Further Maths, Biology and Chemistry

FSMQ In Addiontal Maths

10 GCSEs A*-A including Maths and English

Systems used

Microsoft Word and Excel – Advanced

Inhouse Systems

About

Conscientious and enthusiastic Senior Accountant, Proficient in Data Analysis. Strong Verbal and Written Communication skills with a dedication to ensuring tasks are complete efficiently and with high quality. Studying towards Certificate in Business Accounting through CIMA.

Competencies
Accounting Skills – Legal Billing, Accounts Payable, Journal Postings, Forecasting

Strong communication skills with the ability to communicate at all levels

Well organised and committed to completing tasks effectively and to a high standard

Determination to achieve deadlines and targets whilst balancing multiple duties

IT Literate – Proficient in Microsoft Software and Partner for Windows

Familiarity with VBA Macros, Fixing Common Bugs, and Improving Existing Code

Career Summary.

• Managing a team of 3 Legal Billers, based in the Manchester and London Office
• Month End Tasks – Short Term Cash Flow Forecasting, Journal Posting, Bank Reconciliation (Close the Month by working Day 1)
• Monthly Meetings with Budget Holders to review their Spend VS Budget. Assisting with the Production of Management Accounts Pack for Senior Management Review
• Business Partner – Collaborate with Fee Earners to keep Client Data up to Date. Bi-Weekly Meetings to review Best Practice for Exposure Management, Billing and Recovery (inc. Age WIP/Debts)
• Audit – Update and Maintain the SRA Breach Register and Send to the COFA for a Monthly Review, Assist in Data Gathering, and Responding Audit Queries for the Annual SRA and Statutory Audits
• Financial Year End – Supervise Timetables, Journal Reconciliations, Liaising with Suppliers and Budget Holders to tidy up Ledgers, Cost Forecasting, Residual Balances, Review the Finance Policies
• System Management – Creating New Entities, Branches, Cost Centres, and Nominal Codes in Partner for Windows (Legal Management / Accounting Software)
• Accounts Payable – Post Supplier Invoices and Client Disbursements to the Purchase Ledger, Liaising with Suppliers Via Email and Phone
• Accounts Receivable – Taking Payments via Blink, Manual Credit Control and dealing with Client Queries, Liaising with Clients Via Email and Phone
• Legal Billings for Fee Earners (Initially c.75 Bills Per Month, Reduced to c.40 in current role)

Worked on Multiple Projects in Addition to the above BAU Tasks:

• Liaising with Department Heads to conduct a Biannual Risk Review (Based on the COSO Framework). Refined the Risk Process, thus reducing time Senior Management Spent preparing for and participating in Review Meetings
• Delivered Training Sessions for the Finance Team, and New Starters to the firm. Created a New Syllabus, onboarding Schedule, and Updated Handbook to be used for training Legal Billers
• Collaborated with Senior Management and IT Department to Improve Reporting and KPIs on Multiple Metrics for Business Partnering
• Restructured the Short-Term Cash Flow to create a Top-Down Approach which halved the time spent on Creating the Forecast
• Took over responsibility for Processes which involve Managing Complicated Excel Macros
• Met with Potential Suppliers for a New Expenses Software and helped create a Business Proposal for the Finance Director. Ensured the New Software was successfully implemented across the firm
• Collaborated with Senior Management to Negotiate a New lease with the Landlord for the Manchester Office, securing a 16Month Rent Free Period (Saving for c.£186K)

• Supervised a team of 20 people
• Generated Complete AuditReports for the Solicitors and Liaised wit solicitors regarding their Queries
• Liaised with Manager and other Supervisors on ways to improve Efficiency and Quality of Work generated in the Department
• Produced Daily Reports on teams’ output and uploaded this to Notion
• Organised Departments Monthly Timesheet for Payroll team
• Assisted in the development of New Template for the Complete Audit Report – Quality Checked the Handbook
• Extracted Data from a range of Claim Files to create an Initial Mortgage Audit Report
• Trained New Team Members and Quality Checked their work.
• Communicated with other members of the department regarding Specific Claims and their Audit Reports
• Identified Different types of Mortgage Claims and Assessed whether these Claims met the Specific Criteria