Financial Accountant

Job Description Summary Job Description Role: Financial Accountant Location: Edinburgh (hybrid working) Closing Date: 27th March People are living longer than ever before, and we’re excited by the opportunities this brings. As a purpose-led business, we’re focused on supporting our customers as they navigate through new stages of their lives and all the moments that matter. We’re here for everyone who wants to make the most of their time on the planet and leave it a little better than they found it – however grand or humble their ambitions. Working at Aegon Asset Management, you’ll play an important part in helping achieve this. We have three behaviours that are central to how we operate as a team and a business: we step up, we tune in and we’re a force for good.

Aegon Asset Management (Aegon AM) is a leading global investor. Our 390 investment professionals manage and advise on assets of US $329 billion for a global client base of pension plans, public funds, insurance companies, banks, wealth managers, family offices and foundations.

We organize our firm around four investment platforms: fixed income, real assets, equities and multi-asset & solutions, which includes a fiduciary and multi-manager business. Each investment platform has dedicated teams with deep asset-class expertise, organized globally and committed to maximizing client benefit from their specialist areas.

We have an exciting opportunity for a Financial Accountant based in Edinburgh on a permanent basis. We typically work on a hybrid approach (2 days per week in the office for collaboration, team meetings, working sessions, etc. and up to 3 days per week can be from home).

The Financial Accountant will maintain and report accurate accounting records of the AAM UK Group of companies for statutory and regulatory purposes. They will addresses the need to monitoring the income and expense streams to the business ensuring accurate completion & remittance of invoices and this role is a key part in the reporting of information within our business unit and also assists with the reporting of our results to our other partners within the AEGON group. The role reports into the UK Head of Finance and is part of a team of four people. Responsibilities:

• Production of monthly financial accounts for 3 entities in the AAM UK Group including onward reporting to AAM Group (monthly) and the Aegon Group (quarterly).
• Preparation of monthly accruals and prepayments for the business including liaison with Finance Business Partners
• Recording and settlement of intercompany balances
• Preparation of year end statutory accounts (IFRS) including liaison with external auditors.
• Maintenance and daily updating of accounting records e.g. bank recs and liquidity checks.
• Preparation of quarterly and annual FCA returns including review of companies’ financial resources and preparation of the FCA Fees and Levies calculation.
• Preparation of billing invoices for clients and reporting of aged balances.
• Liaise with Group Tax for VAT return preparation
• Processing of ad-hoc payments from the bank
• Processing of AAM UK purchase invoices
• Preparation of daily client money checks

Experience we are looking for: Essential

• Strong working knowledge of accountancy preferably within an occupational context including experience of the preparation of financial accounts.
• Fully qualified or Part qualified accountant with a recognised professional body (ICAS, CIMA, ACCA or equivalent)
• Good communication skills are desired to communicate effectively between multiple departments.

Desirable

• Experience within a finance role in the Asset Management industry or Financial Services
• Innovative thinking to increase efficiency within the role.
• A good sense of Analytical Skills and Problem Solving is desired.

In the event that the Job holder is not a fully qualified accountant then they will be expected to complete their training in a professional accountancy qualification (CIMA, ACCA). Support will be provided. How we look after you Outside of a competitive salary, working with us comes with a range of benefits that you can access from day one, including:

• Non-contributary pension between 9-13%
• Life assurance cover
• Private medical cover and health assessments
• Access to Peppy – a digital health app for employees of all genders with a range of support covering areas such as general health, menopause, fertility, baby etc
• Critical Illness cover
• A suite of enhanced parental leave policies to support you in the moments that matter
• Holiday trading
• Private GP appointments with Doctor at Hand
• Cycle2Work scheme
• 2 paid days per year for charitable volunteering
• Employee wellbeing is key to our culture. We offer a range of online classes to support this, including yoga and meditation

We champion a collaborative, supportive working environment where you’ll have the opportunity to develop yourself and your career in a way that works for you. Our reward programmes encourage peer-to-peer recognition, and we offer a discretionary annual bonus dependent on company and individual performance. How we look after the community and the environment Aegon Asset Management supports local causes that align with our purpose and ambitions. Our goal is to serve and strengthen the communities where we do business and create a better quality of life for everyone. Our employees are encouraged to support charities they feel passionate about and are offered volunteering days. Responsible investment is a key element of Aegon’s company-wide approach to sustainability. Aegon is committed to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing, we have over 30 years' experience managing responsible investments and offer over 200 responsible investment options across our platforms. Flexible working We’re transitioning to our new normal and we’re welcoming everyone back to working in new, collaborative, and exciting ways. We’ve adopted a hybrid environment of remote and office working, so it’s important that you live within a commutable distance to our offices. We know that people have busy lives and commitments outside of work, so we offer flexible work arrangements where possible to support our employees. We’re an equal opportunities employer We are proud to be a recognised Disability Confident Employer. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their age, disability, race, religion/belief, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity. As an international and multicultural business, we celebrate a range of festive days to support the rich diversity of our employees. Our Chief Marketing Officer leads our own LGBTQ+ community group, and we proudly sponsor Pride events across the UK. Who we’re made up of We’re a company of ambitious, collaborative, problem-solvers who get things done. We strive to make sure everyone that works for us feel seen, heard, and valued – so we’re looking for like-minded people to join us. What you need to know We’ll need you to confirm you have the right to work in the UK. If we offer you the job and you accept, there are some checks we need to complete before you can start with us. This will include a credit and criminal record check, as well as providing satisfactory references. Additional Job Description Equal Opportunity Employer: We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age