Trainee Accountant, Real Estate – UK

Role summary

​We are looking for a motivated Trainee Accountant to join our Real Estate team in our UK office. This is an excellent opportunity to build your accounting career within a supportive and collaborative environment, gaining hands-on experience across bookkeeping, bank and investment portfolio reconciliations, and the preparation of annual financial statements, with guidance from experienced colleagues.

You will play an important role in supporting the team and delivering high-quality work for a varied real estate client portfolio. As part of Altum’s first line of defence, you will follow relevant policies and procedures and confidently raise any unusual or suspicious matters, while developing your technical knowledge and professional skills.

​Key responsibilities

• ​Carry out bookkeeping as instructed by accounting team members;
• Perform monthly reconciliation of managed entities’ bank accounts in accordance with the Company’s procedures;
• Record transactions relating to managed entities and their underlying investments or properties, and reconcile accounting records to relevant third-party statements and supporting information in accordance with the Company’s procedures;
• Ensure that all reconciling items are reported to superiors and that all reconciling items are cleared, by the processing of the required journals, in a timely and satisfactory manner;
• Assist in the preparation of management accounts, reporting schedules and supporting analyses for review by senior team members.
• Assist with the preparation of VAT and CIS returns and supporting workings where applicable, under supervision.
• Preparation of simple managed entities’ annual financial statements under direction from and for review by superior. This will include the processing of appropriate year end journals and amendments to ledger under supervision.
• Support the annual audit process by preparing working papers, responding to information requests and assisting with the resolution of audit queries.
• Take ownership of assigned tasks by proactively identifying and escalating blockers, knowledge gaps and issues that may impact deadlines, and working with managers and senior team members to resolve them promptly.
• Perform other duties as necessary to support the accounting team and wider business and generally act in the best interests of the division by supporting team members.
• Maintain and monitor task list to ensure completion on a timely basis, under supervision of your superior;
• Effectively manage workload, complete daily work and allocated project work as needed;
• Effectively communicate the status of workload to superiors as appropriate.
• Ensure accurate and timely recording of personal time in line with group procedures;
• Ensure time records are up to date at all times.
• To maintain the highest standards of confidentiality and security in terms of client affairs and papers;
• To develop and maintain good staff relations generally within the team and wider Company;
• To ensure that all work is conducted in accordance with Company internal procedures;
• To monitor your own performance against personal and development targets;
• To ensure compliance with the Company’s professional conduct, quality and ethical standards.
• Understanding that you are part of Altum’s ‘three lines of defence’ risk model and following policies and procedures relevant to your client portfolio as needed; and
• Highlighting any unusual, unexpected or suspicious activity on your client portfolio​

Expected skills / experience

• ​GCSE English Language and Maths at grade 4/C or above, or an equivalent qualification.
• A-levels, a relevant Level 3 qualification or a minimum 2:2 degree, depending on the applicable trainee pathway.
• An interest in developing a career in accounting and working towards a relevant professional qualification.
• Good numerical, analytical and problem-solving skills, with strong attention to detail.
• Good organisational and communication skills, with the ability to manage priorities and meet deadlines.
• Comfortable using Microsoft Office, particularly Excel; previous accounting experience is not essential, as training will be provided.
• A proactive approach, willingness to learn and ability to work collaboratively within a team.