Financial Accountant

Leeds, England, United Kingdom

7/29/2025

UK Job Description

We are looking to recruit a Financial Accountant to drive financial success within a dynamic team. As a key member of our Accounting & Finance department, you will play a pivotal role in shaping our financial strategy and contributing to our continued growth and success.

This challenging and rewarding position will have responsibility for the delivery of high quality, accounting processes within the UK Accounting team, and improved management reporting. The role will support the business with complete and robust accounting procedures as well as responsibility for certain key control activities through the calendar year, across our global centres. The position will undertake quarterly reporting and help to enable the preparation for annual audits and statutory reporting. There will be exposure to aspects of project work, as well as systems and process implementation. To excel in this role, you should possess, above all, strong accounting skills and the ability to communicate effectively with various stakeholders at all levels in the organisation.

The Firm

Reed Smith is a dynamic international law firm dedicated to helping clients move their businesses forward. Our belief is that by delivering smarter and more creative legal services, we will not only enrich our clients' experiences with us but also support them in achieving their business goals.

Our long-standing relationships, international outlook, and collaborative structure make us the go-to partner for the speedy resolution of complex disputes, transactions, and regulatory matters.

We all share a common culture, with core values supporting the firm’s commitment to add value, achieve excellence, and promote professional development. We place a huge significance on listening to our people and incorporating their ideas wherever possible.

Reed Smith Global Solutions in Leeds will bring together lawyers and business services professionals to deliver client solutions. The legal offering will include a newly launched Records & e-Discovery practice, as well as associates and paralegals in key practice and industry groups. The business services teams will include client value, practice innovation, marketing, HR, IT, and finance roles.

We are always looking at ways to continually improve the quality of our client services. Reed Smith Global Solutions is part of our answer. In Leeds, we plan to use the open plan layout and an intra-department structure to allow individuals with different skillsets and experiences to work alongside each other to find new approaches to problem solving. It will ensure we can improve our services and increase efficiencies as well as redesign our processes.

Responsibilities

• Reporting to the Finance Manager, the primary purpose of the role is to provide accounting support across a range of responsibilities, delivering accurate accounting reports in a timely and reliable manner.
• Take ownership for aspects of management reporting and balance sheet controls, taking ‘end to end’ responsibility for certain quarterly/Year end activities
• Creating process improvements, suggesting changes to enhance the control environment and improve decision making insight
• Provision of reliable quarterly management accounts for the UK group and the Belgian branch.
• Compilation of annual TB and financial statements for the UK group and the Belgian branch, ready for both Finance Manager’s review and subsequent external audit, ensuring accuracy and complete analysis.
• Reconciliation of all balance sheet accounts for the UK group and other EMEA offices,, as well as other key accounts including distributions and payroll costs.
• Preparation of quarterly UK VAT returns and the associated “net-down” journal.
• Assistance with provision of data to external statutory auditors in UK during the audit.
• Preparation and delivery of various regular reports to internal stakeholders.
• Preparation/input of various monthly journals for month-end routine.
• Calculation and billing of certain shared overhead costs to fellow group entities.
• Co-authorisation within banking portals of office and client payments, with the latter in compliance with SAR.
  
  

Key Skills, Attributes And Experience

• Clear and concise communications skills, both verbal and written
• Significant experience in similar accounting roles.
• Solid, demonstrable skill in the technical aspects of accounting procedure
• Ambitious / Pro-active – delivers the expected result and offers suggestions for improvement
• Strong team player, able to build strong relationships with team members and business stakeholders; Sense of fun, energy and team building.
• Strong analytical skills
• Highly computer literate; competent in using excel and complex accounting systems; capacity to learn other applications.
  
  

At Reed Smith, we welcome direct applications either in response to one of our advertised vacancies or on a speculative basis. Please click on the “Apply Now” button to submit your details and we will be in touch.

No search firms/agencies please.

Reed Smith's success depends heavily on the effective utilization of qualified people, regardless of their race, ancestry, religion, colour, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, disability, veteran's status, or any characteristic protected by law. As a firm, we adhere to and promote equal employment opportunity for all.

We are committed to making all stages of our recruitment process accessible to candidates with disabilities or long-term health conditions. If you have a disability or a long-term health condition and require adjustments to be made for you within the recruitment process, please contact a member of the Recruitment team. For more information on our approach to diversity and inclusion please visit our website .