Assistant Accountant
Job description
Original text imported from Reed
Our client are an established distribution business based in Southampton and are looking to recruit an Assistant Accountant to join their finance team. This is an excellent opportunity for someone looking to develop their career within a supportive and collaborative environment.
Key Responsibilities:
- Assisting with the preparation of monthly management accounts
- Posting journals, accruals and prepayments
- Balance sheet reconciliations
- Supporting the month-end close process
- Assisting with VAT returns
- Maintaining the fixed asset register
- Ad hoc finance and reporting duties as required
About You:
- AAT qualified or equivalent experience
- Previous experience in a similar Assistant Accountant or Finance Assistant role
- Strong Excel skills
- Good attention to detail and ability to meet deadlines
- Proactive, organised and able to work well as part of a team
What’s on Offer:
- Competitive salary of £28,000 – £32,000
- Free on-site parking
- Supportive team environment
- Team Socials - summer BBQ, Christmas party, quarterly team building events
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Key skills
AI-extracted from the job advert
Application advice
5 AI-generated recommendations to maximise your chances.
⭐ Highlight your AAT qualification prominently as this is specifically mentioned as essential for the role
📊 Quantify your month-end experience: 'Completed month-end close within 5 working days for £2.3M turnover business'
🌐 Emphasise your Excel proficiency with specific functions like VLOOKUP, pivot tables, and financial modelling
🎯 Showcase balance sheet reconciliation experience with account values and frequency
🤝 Mention team collaboration in finance environments, particularly in distribution or similar sectors
Suggested CV bullets
3 bullets our AI drafted for this specific advert, mirroring its ATS keywords.
Add these 3 bullets under your most recent experience:
- •Prepared monthly management accounts for £1.8M distribution business, completing balance sheet reconciliations within 3 working days of month-end
- •Processed VAT returns quarterly using Excel analysis, maintaining 100% accuracy across 150+ transaction categories
- •Maintained fixed asset register for 200+ items worth £450k, posting depreciation journals and conducting annual verification checks
Free to copy — tailoring requires a 30-sec CV upload.
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Letter preview — tailored to Chalk Hill Group
Dear Hiring Manager,
Chalk Hill Group's Assistant Accountant position represents exactly the career development opportunity I'm seeking within an established distribution business. My AAT qualification and hands-on experience with monthly management accounts and VAT returns align perfectly with your requirements for supporting the Southampton finance team.
My background in similar Assistant Accountant roles has equipped me with strong Excel skills and experience in balance sheet reconciliations, month-end close processes, and maintaining fixed asset registers. I thrive in collaborative environments where attention to detail and meeting deadlines are paramount.
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Interview questions
10 questions generated from this advert.
Technical
- ›Walk me through your month-end close process from start to finish
- ›How do you approach balance sheet reconciliations and what checks do you perform?
- ›Describe your experience with VAT returns and any complexities you've handled
- ›What Excel functions do you use most frequently in your accounting work?
- ›How do you maintain accuracy when posting journals and accruals?
Behavioural
- ›Tell me about a time when you had to meet a tight deadline for month-end
- ›Describe a situation where you identified an error in financial records
- ›How do you prioritise tasks when supporting multiple finance processes?
- ›Give an example of when you worked effectively as part of a team
- ›Tell me about a time when you had to learn a new accounting process quickly
STAR answer examples
Model answers using the Situation-Task-Action-Result framework. Adapt to your own experience.
Tell me about a time when you had to meet a tight deadline for month-end
Describe a situation where you identified an error in financial records