Job Description:

Summary:

As a Fixed Asset Accountant within our Finance team, you will play a key role in the financial reporting of our £1.1bn AMP 8 Capital Programme.

Reporting to the Business Management Accountant, you will manage the financial lifecycle of our infrastructure assets. With a portfolio of 12,000 assets and a gross book value of £2.6bn, your day-to-day processing, recording, and depreciation of asset data will be essential.

You will take ownership of the integrity of the fixed asset register, ensuring full compliance with IFRS standards for capital expenditure, assets, and grants.

You will ensure that the entire fixed asset cycle-from initial recognition and capitalised interest to unitisation, retention management, and eventual derecognition-is accurately reflected in our accounts, providing a robust foundation for the company's Regulatory Asset Base.

Main Responsibilities

• Maintain the integrity of the fixed asset register, overseeing the end-to-end process from asset creation to disposal/decommissioning.
• Assist in the "componentisation" process, breaking down large project costs into individual assets once a project completes and ensuring an appropriate useful economic life is attributed to each asset.
• Influence the capital WIP closure process to ensure more timely and accurate recognition of assets.
• Calculate and post monthly depreciation, capitalised interest, impairment charges and adjustments.
• Manage the overall monthly processes for fixed assets and WIP accounting, including accruals, reviewing the results for any significant variances or concerns, and communicating the impact.
• Calculate depreciation and capitalised interest for budgets and forecasts, ensuring that budgets are consistent with the capital programme.
• Provide guidance and support to budget holders and key stakeholders to ensure that only eligible costs are capitalised in compliance with SEW accounting policies and IFRS.
• Manage the statutory and regulatory year end processes including providing relevant information and reconciliations to support the fixed asset disclosure note in the annual report, managing the interaction with external auditors for all fixed asset related queries and providing accurate and timely audit evidence and sample documentation.
• Manage the retentions account, ensuring that balances held are appropriate and reconciled.
• Work with stakeholders in Assets and Operations to achieve convergence of the Financial and Operational fixed asset registers.

You'll need:
Skills / Qualifications / Experience

• Part-Qualified Accountant (CIMA, ACCA, ACA) or Qualified by Experience, ideally wishing to progress to full qualification
• Understanding of IFRSs and regulatory accounting standards related to capital expenditure, asset accounting and revenue reporting.
• Financial awareness, especially regarding capital investment, capitalisation policy, and grants.
• Advanced level Excel (or Google Sheets) skills
  
  Familiarity with accounting software/ERP such as Workday, SAP, Oracle etc
• Good verbal and written communication skills and the ability to communicate complex financial concepts clearly and concisely to non-finance managers.
• Work accurately and effectively to tight timescales, and the ability to manage workload to ensure all deadlines are achieved.
• Confidence to constructively challenge senior management on matters of financial policy
• Several years working in a fixed assets role in Finance in an asset-intense business.
• Or experience in a management or financial accounting role with an interest in asset accounting.

Grow a career with a meaningful purpose.

We know the communities we serve are diverse. We recognise creativity comes from diversity not similarity. That's why we are enthusiastic about creating inclusion across age, race, gender, ethnicity, religion and identity. You will experience our dedication to equal opportunities and fair treatment for all: through your recruitment, employment and career progression with South East Water.

Benefits package:

• Excellent Stakeholder pension scheme, up to 10% employer contribution.
• 5 weeks holiday plus bank holidays per annum, increasing to 6 weeks with length of service.
• Flexible annual leave policy to buy or sell holiday leave.
• Paid volunteering days.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Health cash plan.
• Life assurance.
• Wellbeing related benefits.

What can you expect from your recruitment?

• To apply for this position, please submit your CV on our career's website.
• It is necessary for you to have the legal right to work in the UK when you begin employment with South East Water.
• Additionally, as part of the employment offer, you will need to pass background, identity, and employment referencing checks.

If this sounds like the opportunity you've been looking for, apply now!

South East Water kindly asks that recruitment agencies refrain from submitting CVs to our employees or associates without explicit invitation from our HR Resourcing team. CVs sent on a speculative basis will not be acknowledged and will not assume any responsibility for fees or commissions in the event that we hire a candidate who applied directly or subsequently introduced by an instructed agency.

Compensation package:

up to £45,000 p.a. (dependent on experience)