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Who We Are

For over 120 years, Arnold Hill & Co LLP has provided professional, personal, and friendly accounting and tax services to both corporate and individual clients. Conveniently located just outside Waterloo Station, we are ideally positioned to serve clients across London and beyond.

Who You Are

We’re looking for an enthusiastic and motivated Graduate to join our Audit and Accounts Team. This is an excellent opportunity to launch your career in accountancy with full support towards achieving your ACA or ACCA qualification. We’ll cover the cost of your qualification and provide paid study leave to help you excel in your exams.

The Role

As an Audit Junior, you’ll report primarily to an Audit Manager, and at times directly to an Audit Partner or Audit Senior. You’ll work on a range of clients allocated through the Audit Team’s work planner - including audits, accounts preparation, and management accounts - as well as other assignments that naturally fall within the scope of your role.

Key Responsibilities and Duties:

As an Audit Junior, you’ll gain hands-on experience across both audit and accounts work, giving you a well-rounded foundation in accountancy. The proportion of each will vary throughout the year according to business demands.

General

The majority of these tasks are not expected to be familiar to the Audit Junior prior to joining the firm. You’ll develop the necessary skills through on-the-job training, guided and supported by Audit Seniors and Managers, and reinforced by the knowledge you gain during your ACA studies.

Audit

• Work on different types of audits such as Statutory, Service Charge, Independent examinations, Charity audits and SRAs.

• Extract a trial balance from CCH Accounts Production (other software as appropriate) to CCH Audit Automation (or other software as appropriate).

• Carry out audit tests which may involve, but are not limited to, physical inspection of assets, review of documents and requesting third party confirmations, and document the evidence in support of conclusions to each audit test.

• Perform preliminary analytical procedures on the draft accounts. 

• Calculate materiality and use this to calculate sample sizes.

• Ensure that the planning section of Audit Automation reflects all planning considerations and discussions, and is appropriately signed off.

• Liaise with the Corporation Tax department around the collection of information on tax-sensitive categories, and regarding a draft Corporation Tax provision for the accounts.

• Post adjusted journals for any errors identified which are in excess of materiality or otherwise considered necessary to adjust for.

• Ensure that results and conclusions of audit work are documented in Audit Automation fieldwork section, and are fully signed off.

• List out any unadjusted journals separately during the course of the audit, to be provided to the client once the assignment has come to its conclusion.

• Prepare a list of points for Audit Manager and Audit Partner to highlight key issues to the intended reviewer of the file.

• Prepare a schedule of audit highlights summarising the key points for each section of the file.

• Prepare a schedule of points forward to next year for any matters which we will to be brought to our attention in the following year.

• Draft a letter to management and letter of representation for each audit. 
  
  
• Liaise with clients for the duration of the audit to gain relevant and necessary information, including explanations for any queries arising. 
  
  
• Perform audits outside of the office as and when required. Occasionally auditors will be required to stay overnight when audits are outside of London.

• Ensure any Audit Automation completion sections that have been completed are signed off.

• Liaise with audit software provider if there are any issues with the software.

• Scan, upload and safely store confidential client information.

• Accurately complete budgets to reflect actual time spent, where applicable.

Accounts

• Prepare accounts for different types of entities such as Companies, Groups, Service Charge, Charity, Pension scheme and LLPs under FRS 102, FRS 105, IFRS. 

• Extracting a trial balance from Sage or Xero (or other bookkeeping software) and prepare draft accounts within Microsoft Word and CCH (or other software as appropriate).

• Update any notes to the accounts and assess that the necessary disclosures have been made in accordance with the applicable accounting standards.

• Prepare a cashbook analysis where appropriate.

• Prepare management accounts.

• Create a Working Paper using Microsoft Excel for the basis of the Accounts and Audit work.

• Prepare notes to the accounts based on the previous year and develop an understanding of the necessary disclosures needed in accordance with the applicable accounting standards.

• Undertake analysis or reconciliations in accounts working papers as required on items such as (but not limited to):

• • Fixed assets
  • Listed investments
  • VAT
  • Wages & salaries
  • Opening balances
  • Accruals

• Run reports for different nominals for each section of the working paper for the relevant period to view all transactions that occurred.

• Roll forward Excel Working Papers, Microsoft Word accounts and CCH accounts.

• Complete an Analytical Review on information collected and analyse significant changes during the period.

• Use Companies House to document client statutory information.
  
  
• Prepare a draft tax computation and use HMRC to access tax information to prepare tax reconciliations for the period.

• Accurate completion of budgets to reflect actual time spent, where applicable.

• Liaise with the bookkeeper or client’s bookkeeper to resolve any queries arising during the course of the accounts preparation.
  
  
• Prepare a list of points for Audit Manager and Audit Partner to highlight key issues to the intended reviewer of the file. 

Systems

• You will be required to become familiar with the following during the course of your work: Sage, Xero, Quickbooks and CCH including Accounts Production and Audit Automation, and any similar software a client may use to maintain their accounting records.
  
  
• Liaise with team members using both Microsoft Teams and Zoom.

Compliance

• Ensure all client information is kept confidential and stored and transported in a secure way.
  
  
• Ensure forms like KYC, ID and Risk assessment are filled in periodically.

Fraud

• Although not engaged to identify potential instances of fraud, if you come across any information which appears to be indicate fraudulent activity, to notify the firm’s MLRO.

Arnold Hill & Co LLP offers a professional and supportive environment in which to develop your skills and progress towards full qualification. We look forward to welcoming motivated graduates who are eager to learn and grow with us.

If this position is of interest to you, please send your CV and a covering letter to vacancies@arnoldhill.co.uk