Accounting Partner

Overview
The Accounting Partner will lead our rapidly growing, modern and forward-thinking accounting practice, working flexibly from home.
Key Responsibilities
Operational Strategy
Work alongside the CEO to implement a commercially viable, operational strategy that is well thought-out, well delivered and well understood across the team.
Assess and implement the best accounting tech and other tools on the market, taking into consideration AI and other advanced technology options, thereby boosting our competitive advantage by being early adopters and forward thinkers.
Adopt a pricing strategy that maximises financial performance and retains key clients, adopting minimum fee policies and optimal service offerings.
Appraise and conduct RoI analysis on key operational matters such as software adoption, team structures, outsourcing and the roles that make up our accounting teams.
Client Advice
Provide suitable strategic and highly technical advice and guidance to clients with regard to their accountancy affairs.
Responsible for all technical accounting / corporation tax advice, especially in the areas most common with startup technology businesses, notably FRS1021A, transfer pricing and intercompany policy, share schemes, R&D tax credits, equity accounting, consolidated accounting, complex financial instruments.
Support and build on our sector specialism with technology startups.
Understand and be able to evaluate the client’s situation and tailor the advice according to their specific needs, providing clear and technically accurate documentation and key transaction documents.
Understand and be able to evaluate the impact of market and general economic indicators and identify any changes to proposed financial advice given to clients.
Able to provide support to clients in their negotiations, liaising with other financial advisers, e.g. tax affairs, coordinating their activities where necessary and anticipating and suggesting appropriate solutions to any challenges arising.
Complete the final review of all year-end accounts and corporation tax returns, ensuring accounts are accurate with correct disclosures and are prepared and filed in a timely manner, before delegating to lower-level management once processes and controls allow.
Design and oversee the delivery for all accounting services, ensuring strong customer service, efficiency and acceptable fee recoveries.
Oversee one-off, complex projects such as on onboarding large new clients or accounting systems transition.
Client Liaison
Able to structure and lead client meetings ensuring that information given is up to date, clear and not misleading and meets the client’s needs.
Ensure all dealings with clients are conducted professionally and their requests are dealt with in a timely and effective manner, delegating to others where appropriate.
Ensure all correspondence and reporting is clear and not misleading, technically accurate and meets client’s needs.
Where clients have needs without our expertise, explore and maintain partnerships with external partners providing professional services that may support our clients. For example, lawyers, overseas accountants and VAT specialists.
Financial Management
Monitor and manage chargeable hours, utilisation, recoveries, WIP, billing, direct debit collection and lock up for you and your team, ensuring where possible lock up is kept to a minimum and clients are billed regularly.
Ensure that ‘one off’ charges are captured adequately and are supported by strong underlying processes.
Inform the CEO promptly of all WIP and bad debt provisions or any other material issues affecting the financial performance of an individual team or the wider firm.
Hold regular financial performance reviews with your direct reports in respect of your client portfolio, identifying gaps, overservicing, poor client performance etc.
Maintain an appropriate ratio of revenue to staff costs, and budgeting / resourcing within teams, ensuring the company remains profitable.
Inform the CEO promptly of all significant WIP / bad debt provisions or any other material issues affecting the financial performance of a team or the wider firm.
Staff Management & Development
Act as an effective leader and support the Head of Accounting and the wider accounting team in all aspects of their roles.
Responsible for the day-to-day line and task management of all accounting direct reports.
Conduct annual performance reviews for all direct reports, alongside regular, structured one-to-one meetings to keep key direct reports motivated and retained.
Ensure the teams are working in harmony, with structured training, guidance and manuals for all day-to-day services the company provides to its clients.
Work alongside the Operations Director to design and implement personal development plans / KPIs for all accounting roles, and ensure they are developed in accordance with these reviews.
Act as mentor and help to develop junior talent in line with apprenticeship programmes.
Help to develop strong management and leadership skills in your direct reports.
In conjunction with the senior leadership team, manage, counsel and develop your direct reports with a view to maximising their work potential (in terms of their skills, knowledge and experience, management style and client care).
Work with the Operations Director on recruitment and resource monitoring for the accounting team to ensure we recruit high-quality people whilst maintaining excellent service levels.
Ensure your personal high standards of technical and professional competence are maintained and are developed for other members of your team/direct reports.
Quality Control, Compliance & Risk Management
Develop and ensure compliance with the firm’s internal procedures so as not to expose the firm to unacceptable levels of risk.
Develop and ensure compliance with the firm’s compliance manual and relevant workflows, operating procedures and manuals.
Maintain personal technical competence.
Report complaints and potential PI issues for your team/direct reports in line with the firm’s complaints procedures.
Growing the Business
Promote and build the firm’s reputation internally and externally.
Contribute to business strategy, where relevant, to help ensure that decisions are commercially viable and put the business, and its people and clients, first.
Responsible for marketing and business development activities for your field of expertise as agreed with the CEO.
Assist the CEO and Operations Director with PR for the accounting division.
Promote cross-selling within the group with Onside Tax and other strategic opportunities the business pursues.
Build and cultivate relationships with clients and potential clients, including general networking with potential referrers of new business.
Qualifications & Key Competencies
The Accounting Partner should be ACA/ACCA qualified with a minimum of 10 years’ post qualification experience, and at least 2 years as a Director or Partner at a UK firm. They should be able to demonstrate these key competencies:
People and Customer focus – Core to your role is to support our people and provide an excellent service to clients.
Judgement – The firm relies on your judgement in the services supplied to clients. This has to be delivered as per the client’s needs, technically excellent, commercial and on time.
Technical expertise – Strong technical leadership and maintaining your technical competence is critical to ensuring clients receive an excellent service.
Networking and business development – You are skilled at developing and growing relationships in the wider market and leveraging these to create opportunities for the business.
Communication – You communicate both verbally and in writing in an engaging and professional and purposeful manner.
Leadership – You will help drive and lead a culture of continuous development, be able to identify future talent and act as mentor and sponsor.
Skills & Experience
The Accounting Partner should have 8+ years’ experience in senior technical accounting roles and 2+ years’ experience as a Director or Partner in a UK firm, with experience overseeing a portfolio of £1m+ whilst maintaining strong relationships with key clients. They should be proficient in Xero, with a solid understanding of the Xero app ecosystem.
They should be a very strong technical accountant, able to interpret complex accounting issues and apply accounting standards and provide advice. Alongside a very strong year-end financial reporting background, they should be able to demonstrate a good understanding of international transfer pricing policy and intercompany accounting issues, equity accounting, consolidated accounting, complex financial instruments and other areas that impact clients operating in the technology startup space regularly.
They should have excellent client management skills, including relationship management, expectations management and delivering work with strong communication, and be capable of driving change and process improvement across their team. With a continuous improvement mindset, they should be passionate about developing people and processes, and when dealing with technology businesses and other high growth start-ups.
Strong communication and interpersonal skills are essential to be able to establish, maintain and develop effective communications across the company, with team members, clients and with external organisations. They are also key to building professional and personal credibility to gain the support of colleagues and clients. Discretion is also essential for the handling of sensitive and confidential client and company information.
Strong technical expertise and knowledge of the wider range of Onside services is essential to identify work beyond the scope of engagements, monitor ongoing transaction levels, handle negotiations clients and identify opportunities to upsell and promote other services.
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