Private Equity - Assistant Accountant

£25,000 - £40,000 + attractive benefits + study support

London

The Company

They are a growing international financial services company that provides services to private equity and real estate private equity firms across the globe. They have offices in over 10 international locations and work for over 200 funds across over 30 countries. They are a truly international company and offer good career development prospects.

Responsibilities

  • Work in a team for designated Private Equity Clients
  • Gain exposure to Clients at different stages of their fund life cycle, from those within their period of capital raising to others within their divestment phase.

Yearly and Quarterly Accounts:

  • Assist in the preparation and completion process of quarterly and yearly financial statements and reports.
  • Work to agreed timetables with Clients and manage the necessary information flow.
  • Monitor the allocation rules assigned to fund transactions to ensure accurate recording of information between different fund vehicles.
  • Perform and help perform 1st and 2nd reviews to ensure high quality of work produced.
  • Ensure fund bank accounts and intercompany accounts are reconciled on a continuous basis.
  • Work closely with the technical team to ensure financial statements meet the funds reporting requirements of UK GAAP, US GAAP, IFRS and LPA GAAP.

Drawdowns, Equalisations and Distributions:

  • Review drawdown and equalisation calculations to ensure the accuracy of figures, as funds seek access to their commitments.
  • Review distribution calculations, ensuring the flow of funds from investment sales are accurately recorded right through to fund partner payments.
  • Review GPS calculations to ensure the correct and timely recording of fund management fees.
  • Prepare partner statements for the correct accounting of equity held within each reportable fund.
  • Ensure the accurate communication of all fund movements between the fund and its partners, through the issuance of relevant fund notices.
  • Work within LPA guidelines to ensure the treatment of movements adhere to necessary criteria, notably in the case of recallable distributions.

Client and Staff management:

  • Possibly take part in weekly Client call with CFO and Financial Controller of funds to ensure open and effective communication at all times.
  • Take part in training and development of team members.
  • Deliver quality information to agreed timeframes
  • Prepare accounts to agreed internal deadlines for first review, including calculating and preparing Drawdown and Distribution notices
  • Prepare ad hoc analysis for review (ensuring queries are responded to within 24 hours)
  • Prepare KPIs for first review by Client services Accountant
  • Initiate payments and amendments to standing data with the data processing team
  • Help in Annual audit process
  • Perform weekly bank reconciliations
  • Understand how to generate and distribute packages using Reporting Services
  • Ensure relevant procedures and checklists are adhered to and completed to minimise risk of errors
  • Report any breaches, complaints or errors to Accountant and Compliance officer promptly

Who they are looking for

  • You must have a good working knowledge of double entry accounting
  • Must have A levels and GCSE no lower than a 'B'
  • Must be part qualified having completed level 2 of ACCA or Professional Managerial level of CIMA or have equivalent experience
  • Intermediate Excel skills
  • Excellent organisational, prioritisation and interpersonal skills
  • Able to communicate at senior levels