accountant Glasgow, Scotland
Job description
BNP Paribas is the European Union’s leading bank and a key player in international banking. We operate in 65 countries and employ 190,000 people, including nearly 145,000 in Europe. Our Group holds key positions in its three main fields of activity: Commercial, Personal Banking & Services; Investment & Protection Services; and Corporate & Institutional Banking (CIB) for corporate and institutional clients.
Our Securities Services business, which forms part of CIB, is a leading global custodian providing specialist post-trade and asset servicing solutions to buy and sell-side market participants, corporates and issuers. Based in 35 locations around the world, our award-winning Securities Services teams have built one of the most extensive custody network in the industry, giving clients the connectivity and local knowledge they need to navigate change in a fast-changing world.
The Fund Accounting Department has responsibility for a number of different functions inclusive of daily Net Asset Value (NAV) production, periodic oversight controls and production of statutory financial statements. The Department provides such functions for a range of fund types including Investment Trust, UK Open Ended Investment Companies, a Property Authorised Investment Fund, Unit Trusts, UK administered Luxembourg SICAVs and life & pension funds.
The Financial Reporting team is responsible for the preparation of the interim and year-end financial statements, managing the end to end financial reporting process from planning to signing and also the audit at year end. The team are also responsible for the preparation of monthly board papers (management accounts) and other reporting tasks including administration of the Property funds general ledger, actual distribution rates for the UK funds, closed funds, revenue forecasts and periodic IFRS10 reporting.
Purpose and Scope of Role
- To perform timely and accurate reviews of year end and half year financial accounts
- Liaison with auditors and other operational departments. This could be across a number of products.
- Detailed review of monthly board papers (management accounts) for Investment Trust clients.
- The scope of the role also includes review of reporting for a range of activities including but not limited to IFRS10, Distributions, Closed balance sheets, revenue forecasting, balance sheets, AIC reporting, ONS and HMRC returns.
- Ensure understanding and compliance with client Service Level Agreements and internal delivery deadlines.
Key Responsibilities
- To meet client KPI’s and service delivery commitments
- Review of year end and half year financial accounts
- Liaison with auditors and other operational departments.
- Review of monthly board papers (management accounts).
- Review of IFRS10 reporting, actual distribution rates, closed funds balance sheets, revenue forecasts, performance and management fees.
- Review of net asset values reported to Association of Investment Companies (AIC) and Stock Exchange.
- Review of returns to HM Revenue & Customs and Office for National Statistics (e.g. quarterly VAT, National Statistics returns).
- Oversight of receipts and payments and maintenance of accounting records.
- Timely completion of internal team management information
- Working closely with Fund Accounting and Middle Office teams in ensuring integrity of fund data and managing responses to Clients, Auditors, Trustees, Custodians and other departments within BNP Paribas Securities Services for those funds assigned responsibility for.
- Ensure understanding and compliance with client SLAs and internal delivery deadlines.
- Review/assist in planning and preparation of interim and final financial statements.
- Assess team processes to improve efficiency, control and to reduce risk
- Support management in ensuring all significant activities are documented within procedures, kept up-to-date and recorded on the procedure database
- Support management in ensuring all checklists utilised in review and sign off clearly document controls and are kept up-to-date
- Support training and development of team members
- Timely escalation of any issues to management
- Corrective and preventative action if deadlines / quality standards are at risk
The Requirements
- Sound technical experience in preparation of statutory accounts.
- Excellent communication skills
- Advanced numerical skills and accounting knowledge
- Solid understanding of statutory and regulatory reporting requirements.
- Time management and planning skills
- Proficient with Microsoft Excel.
- Being responsible, reliable and accountable
- Accounting experience and / or Accounting qualification or studying towards an accounting qualification
- Experience working in the Financial Services Sector
- Knowledge of UK / Lux GAAP , IFRS, and SORP for Authorised Funds
- Fund Accounting knowledge
Equal Opportunities
BNP Paribas promotes equality of opportunity and is committed to ensuring that no individual is discriminated against on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.
As an employee with BNP Paribas, we want to make sure that you are rewarded for your commitment. As such, you will be entitled to our award winning benefits package which includes a generous holiday allowance of at least 34 days (including bank holidays), a non-contributory pension of 12%, private healthcare, GP service and dental cover all as standard, along with a number of personal insurances such as income protection, life assurance and personal accident insurance. We believe in ensuring all our employees have a positive work life balance so in addition you will also have access to a variety of flexible lifestyle benefits such as cycle to work and green car leasing schemes, season ticket loans and reduced cinema and gym membership to name a few.
