Fund Accountant

About Us

At Octopus, we’re entrepreneurs and we’re investors, on a mission to back the people, ideas and industries that will change the world.

We think working here is great, but we’re understandably biased. Click here to explore Life at Octopus.

What’s in it for you?

You will have the opportunity to take a hands-on role in a commercially minded team that are a key part of the financial management for one of the biggest VCT providers in the UK, allowing you to quickly become an expert in this field and gain a wide range of knowledge.

This role will offer a lot of variety and longer-term development and growth opportunities through dealing with multiple workstreams and having a high level of autonomy and ownership, as well as the opportunity to be involved in projects outside of your day to day. People are at the heart of everything we do at Octopus and in this role you will be able to collaborate with and gain knowledge from a variety of stakeholders from across the business.

The team:

This role sits within the Ventures & Small Companies Finance team responsible for the provision of finance services across Venture Capital Trusts (“VCT”) and a suite of institutional funds. You will also be part of a wider Finance function that is a diverse team of 60 that operates across various business areas and specialisms

Reporting to the Financial Controller, the Fund Accountant will take full ownership for finance and reporting, building a thorough knowledge of the funds assigned to them and becoming a key point of contact for stakeholders including investment teams, company secretariat, and the relevant boards.

What will you be doing?

• By developing a thorough understanding of VCT legislation and reporting requirements you will maintain strong relationships with the board, investment managers and other teams internally and externally through the confident and accurate delivery of financial and regulatory information.

• You will have responsibility for maintaining accurate books and records for the funds, completing statutory and regulatory reporting (including interim and year-end process, NAV reporting, audit, and interim/annual reports). Additionally, you will prepare and assess monthly financial information.

• Preparing the quarterly financial reports for the Board pack and Governance Committee including, but not limited to, distributable reserves forecasts and VCT qualification status forecasts.

• Preparing the budget and cash flow forecast of assigned VCTs on a timely basis to ensure cash is available for the ongoing requirements of the funds, including but not limited to, buybacks, dividends, and investments.

• Preparing VCT rules forecasts for presentation to Governance Committee and VCT Boards ensuring that pinch points are highlighted within these forums and appropriate courses of action to avoid breaching rules are suggested.

• Working with an assistant accountant who you will play an active part in coaching, mentoring, and assigning work to.

Ideally, you’ll have:

✅ An accountancy qualification (ACA/ACCA or equivalent)

✅ Experience with an investment or asset management firm, either in-house or via an accountancy firm.

✅ A good working knowledge of how funds work and operate

✅ Excellent interpersonal skills, with experience in confidently presenting and communicating financial information in a straightforward manner.

We encourage you to apply even if you don’t tick every box. What’s the worst that can happen?

This role will evolve as we grow and develop. So, if you are looking for a challenge in a fast paced and dynamic business, we can deliver on that.

What We Offer

Our Values
At our core, we believe that how a company behaves is just as important as what it does. That’s why we chose to become an accredited B Corp (the equivalent of a Fairtrade coffee stamp but for companies) and to change our Articles of Association so that the interests all our stakeholders – employees, customers, communities, environment and shareholders – are considered in every decision we make.

We’re committed to creating a diverse and inclusive employee experience for all. We promote equal opportunities for growth and development regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, or socio-economic background. We believe strongly that teams are at their best when every member of the team feels safe to bring their whole self to work.