Group Financial Accounting Assistant

OVERVIEW

A superb opportunity to join a finance team in a growing listed retail and services business. The right person for the role will be have some good base financial reporting and accounting knowledge ,an engaging, energetic and proactive style, and be keen to learn and develop within the team.

JOB PURPOSE

The Group Financial Accounting Assistant role is responsible for the assisting with Halfords Group external reporting process, providing administration support to the financial reporting team and where possible providing technical support to the business.

JOB CONTEXT

Halfords Group plc is a listed retail and services business, with over £1billion turnover.

Halfords is the UK’s leading retailer of motoring, cycling and leisure products, and through Halfords Autocentres, is also one of the UK’s leading independent operators in vehicle servicing, maintenance and repairs. Customers shop at around 400 Halfords stores in the UK and Republic of Ireland and at Halfords.com. Halfords Autocentres operates from over 370 sites nationally and offers motorists high-quality MOTs, repairs and car servicing at affordable prices. Customers can also shop at three Tredz stores and a Giant store in South Wales as well as online at tredz.co.uk and wheelies.co.uk for cycling products and direct home delivery.

The role reports directly to the Financial Reporting Manager (Projects), who in turn reports to the Head of Group Financial Reporting and Control. The role interacts on a regular basis with the other members of the Financial Reporting and Control team, Commercial & Operational Finance team members, FSS team and other finance team members in addition to occasional interactions with Halfords property team.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Support the administration of the balance sheet reconciliation process
• Assist in improving quality of balance sheet reconciliations across the business and assist with deep dives where necessary e.g. deposits and GRNI
• Assist FR team with generating monthly reports required in SAP/BW, GDP
• Assist with the administration of the audit process to include diary commitments and chasing up audit queries
• Support the IFRS 16 process, this may include performing cash reconciliations and liaising with property team to ensure all documentation is complete and accurate
• Support the month end intercompany process
• Support the deposits process – including clearing of accounts
• Manage the input of leases onto our IFRS 16 software (MRI Qube)
• Office of national statistics reporting
• Running some of the month end calculations
• Support the group fixed asset process
• Utilise the Group Data Platform and become trained in the new Power BI tool
• Raise FR PO’s
• Support improvement projects as necessary eg intercompany process, fixed asset process

WHAT WE SEEK

• Trainee accountant
• Great attention to detail
• Technically astute and intellectually curious
• Ability to challenge and drive through change
• Collaborative team worker
• Good IT skills – needs to competent in using excel in particular
• A basic knowledge of IFRS accounting standards would be useful especially IFRS 16
• Ability to quickly build effective working relationships and internal networks

We require staff to work from our Redditch Support Centre at least two days per week.