Trainee Financial AccountantLocation: Hitchin Office based - reliable commuting distanceSalary: £25,000-30,000 per annum (plus bonus, excellent benefits and support towards AAT/CIMA or ACCA study). The opportunity: Reporting to the Financial Controller, this local global manufacturing business is seeking an excellent Trainee Financial Accountant to take ownership of key finance processes, drive for improvement and play a vital role in supporting the success of the finance team and wider business. This is an exciting opportunity for someone with motivation to start or develop a successful career in finance. The company are extremely strong advocates of professional development - study support or ongoing CPD is available and encouraged. Responsibilities: • Ownership of the sales ledger function. This involves strengthening our relationships with customers and ensuring that business commercial interests are protected. • Ownership of key bank processes; this involves populating the cash books, preparing bank reconciliations, managing FX exposure through hedges, preparing payment runs, monitoring cash balances and forecasting cash flows. • Ownership of other balance sheet areas e.g. fixed assets and prepayments. • Conduct ad-hoc data analysis to drive sound decision-making in the business. • Report key results and metrics to the wider business e.g., sales and orders data and aged debtors’ performance. • Ensure all customers have been vetted for trade compliance checks, that all credit limits are supported by third party recommendations and that concerns around compliance and credit risk are escalated immediately. • Partner with the sales and operations teams to ensure sales throughput is well-supported. • Engage in continuous improvement activities within the finance team. • Play a vital supporting role on wider finance processes: e.g. the execution of period-end activities (reconciliations and journal postings) and production of key reporting deliverables. About you: • A demonstratable interest in financial accounting. • You’ll gain technical experience on the job, have access to formal training opportunities and will be placed on a clear development path with oversight from the Financial Controller. • Must be highly numerate and analytical. • Must be detail orientated. • Must be highly organised and able to multi-task. • Must possess good commercial awareness. • Must possess exceptional customer service skills. • Must be a self-starter with a positive can-do attitude. • Must be familiar with Excel and standard office applications. • This role is well-suited for an ambitious and entrepreneurial graduate or apprentice looking for an exciting and varied start to a career in finance.