Excellent opportunity for an experienced Accounts Assistant to join one of Scotland’s most prestigious Law Firm’s in Edinburgh.

Job Title: Accounts Assistant
Location: Edinburgh, City Centre (hybrid working available)
Contract: Permanent, Full-time
Salary: up to £28,000 + excellent benefits
  
AJ Connect is delighted to be partnering with one of Scotland’s leading Law Firm’s to appoint an Accounts Assistant to sit within the Cashroom team of the Finance department. This Firm has specialised in meeting the legal, financial, and administrative needs for their clients for over 100 years.
  
Reporting directly to the Cashroom Supervisor this is an excellent opportunity for an ambitious or experienced Finance professional who is passionate to provide a variety of effective, efficient, and timely finance services to support the wider organisation.
 

You will be responsible for:
Client Transactions

• Responsibility for reviewing and processing all client fund transactions on a daily basis, in line with the firm’s stated procedures
• Using the firm’s online banking systems, accurately process client and firm payment transactions, adhering to the firms stated anti-fraud procedures
• Manage client funds held on designated accounts; opening and closing accounts as required using the online banking systems, and ensuring the correct authorisations are in place at all times for lodgements and upliftments to these accounts
• Process interest to clients designated bank accounts
• Process inter client transfer transactions, ensuring all such transfers comply with the Law Society of Scotland Accounts Rules
• Prepare daily banking, ensuring this is lodged with the bank within the required timescales.

  
Reconciliations / Compliance

• Perform daily, weekly, and monthly bank reconciliations as required on all client and firm bank accounts ensuring that all unreconciled items are resolved timeously
• Perform quarterly reconciliations of all clients designated bank accounts, ensuring all unreconciled items are resolved timeously
• Responsibility for reviewing all client fund ledgers, identifying client balances which may be classed as residual, and ensuring appropriate steps are taken to return the funds to clients without delay, thereby ensuring compliance with the Law Society of Scotland Accounts Rules
• Run the day close daily balancing reports ensuring any discrepancies are identified and resolved rapidly
• Ensure compliance with the Law Society of Scotland Accounts Rules at all times.

  
Purchase Ledger / Firm Accounting

• Operate the firm’s purchase ledger, to include accurately processing firm and client disbursement invoices to the system, running weekly bulk payment runs, one off supplier payments online or by cheque etc.
• Process expense claim submissions accurately and timeously, and ensuring that all claims comply with the firm’s expenses policy at all times
• Ensure a strong financial control environment exists in the area of credit card payments, including performing a monthly reconciliation of all expenditure processed to the firm’s credit cards
• Ensure all firm payments made by direct debit are in line with authorisations supplied to the Cashroom team, and that these are processed timeously to the firm’s practice management system
• Reconcile all supplier statements received on a monthly basis
• Responsibility for firm petty cash, including timely reconciliation in line with the firm’s procedures
• Maintain the Nominal Ledgers by posting of cash and bank transactions, and by processing appropriate Journals.

  
Billing / Credit control

• Preparation and sending out of fee notes to clients
• Regular meetings with fee earners to discuss billing requirements
• Processing WIP and client disbursements write offs
• Responsibility for ensuring all fee notes issued across the firm are stored electronically in the Finance central storage system
• Working with the Cashroom Supervisor, ensure that all outstanding fees are pursued for payment with a view to ensuring timeous collection.

  
Other

• Responsibility for collating tax payment information by client, at the required level of detail, from the tax group and thereon ensuring client funds which require to be moved between matter ledgers by way of transfers in order to effect payment are processed in a timely and efficient manner
• Assisting the Residential Property team with the preparation of cash statements to be sent to clients
• Ensure all queries and tasks allocated are completed within the required timescales
• Ensure all queries raised by fee earners / secretaries are responded to and resolved in a timely and proactive manner at all times
• Provision of training as required within both the finance team and the firm as a whole.

The ideal candidate will possess:

• Previous experience working as a Legal Cashier or equivalent is desirable
• Alternatively, at least 3 years’ experience working in a busy, demanding finance environment, and educated to a degree level in a relevant subject
• Previous experience of working in a legal finance/professional services environment strongly preferred
• Strong focus on excellent customer service, with a willingness to take responsibility for timely completion of work and resolution of any issues
• A flexible, proactive, positive, “can do” attitude. A self-starter
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• Accustomed to relationship building and liaison with all levels of staff
• Strong attention to detail
• Excellent IT skills using MS Word, Excel, Outlook, and Teams.

  
If you are interested in this opportunity or know of someone in your network that is suitable, please contact one of the AJ Connect team and we will be in touch!