Our client advises the world's leading corporations, investment funds and financial institutions on their most critical legal needs and business opportunities. The Firm's approximately 500 lawyers are based in North America and Europe.
They are now looking to recruit a Management Accountant. Based in London the Management Accountant will take ownership of general ledger and month-end close activities for the London office while supporting broader European operations. The role combines core financial control responsibilities with management reporting, tax coordination, and client account compliance, requiring a hands-on, detail-oriented individual who can operate across multiple jurisdictions and engage effectively with both finance and non-finance stakeholders.
Responsibilities
- Own/prepare month-end close activities for the London office in accordance with firm policies and applicable accounting standards.
- Maintain the general ledger, including journal preparation/posting, intercompany postings, and reclassifications.
- Perform balance sheet reconciliations and ensure timely resolution of reconciling items (bank, payroll, fixed assets, intercompany, VAT accounts, etc.).
- Prepare and review P&L and balance sheet analysis, investigating variances and trends.
- Support cash management activities, including bank reconciliations and payment run support as needed.
- Management accounting and reporting
- Support budgeting and forecasting cycles
- Provide cost centre reporting to budget owners and assist with query resolution.
- Tax coordination and basic accounting coverage - Frankfurt and Brussels
- Coordinate local tax compliance processes with external advisers/payroll providers (e.g., VAT filings, wage tax-related reporting, other locally required filings), ensuring deadlines are met and documentation is complete.
- Support basic accounting activities for Frankfurt and Brussels (e.g., routine journals, reconciliations, invoice coding support, local vendor queries).
- Assist with preparation/coordination of information for local statutory accounts and audits, acting as the Finance point of contact for external accountants.
- Ensure proper intercompany accounting and cost allocations between London/Frankfurt/Brussels as required by firm policy.
- Support compliance with the SRA Accounts Rules and internal firm policies relating to client money, ensuring appropriate segregation, authorisation, and audit trail. Assist with client account reconciliations (e.g., client ledger to bank, and bank to cashbook) and ensure reconciliations are completed accurately and on schedule, with timely escalation of exceptions.
- Help monitor and action residual client balances, including reporting, investigation, and coordination with relevant teams to resolve/return balances in line with policy.
- Support client-to-office transfers and other movements (e.g., disbursements, bills and receipts) to ensure they are properly supported, correctly coded, and processed in accordance with the Rules and firm procedures.
- Assist with responding to audit/compliance queries relating to client accounting, including preparing supporting documentation for internal reviews and external inspections.
- Maintain clear documentation of processes and controls for client accounting activities, and contribute to continuous improvement of controls and reconciliation procedures
The Candidate
- Qualified accountant (ACA/ACCA/CIMA or equivalent).
- Proven experience in general ledger accounting and month-end close, ideally in a professional services environment (law firm experience is a plus).
- Solid management accounting skills: variance analysis, reporting, and the ability to translate numbers into clear narrative.
- Strong reconciliation discipline and attention to detail, with a control-minded approach.
- Advanced Excel skills (pivots, lookups, basic modelling); comfortable working with finance systems/ERPs.
- Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple deadlines across jurisdictions.
- Clear communicator, able to work confidently with non-finance stakeholders.
- Can demonstrate a proactive, hands-on approach, to be involved in both accounting and supporting transactional activities
Important Notice
It is Career Legal’s policy, as a matter of courtesy, to respond to all applications within three working days. However because of the volume of applications, we are sometimes unable to respond to individual candidates. If we have not contacted you within three working days your application has been unsuccessful and your details have not been retained. Please apply for any other position that you may see in the future. Thank you.
Career Legal is a Recruitment Agency and is advertising this permanent vacancy on behalf of one of its clients.
