Accounts Assistant
Location: Birmingham (Hybrid – 2 days per week in the office)
Salary: £35,000 - £45,000
(Sponsorship not provided)
Role Overview
Our client is a specialist insurance business operating across the UK and Ireland, backed by the scale and financial strength of a major international insurance group. It pairs the security and resources of a global parent with the pace and close-knit feel of a specialist team. They now have an opening for a driven and highly accurate Accounts Assistant to join their finance function and lay the groundwork for a lasting career in the profession.
Working directly to the Financial Controller, you'll help keep the group's financial information accurate, timely and tightly controlled. The role offers genuine breadth — you'll get stuck into everything from purchase ledger and cash management through to bank reconciliations, payment runs, month-end and audit, while gaining early exposure to insurance accounting and regulatory reporting. It's a strong fit for someone who likes variety, has a real eye for detail, and wants to grow their technical skills in a friendly, supportive team — with full study support towards a professional qualification on offer.
Key Responsibilities
- Post and process purchase and sales invoices promptly, checking that coding, approvals and backup documentation are all correct.
- Handle staff expense claims and company card spend, making sure everything sits within policy and chasing down any discrepancies.
- Help run the weekly payment cycle end to end — pulling the information together, reviewing it, and getting payments out securely and on schedule.
- Stay on top of cash postings and bank reconciliations, investigating any unmatched items and ensuring movements are recorded correctly.
- Get involved in the month-end cycle, posting journals and setting up accruals and prepayments.
- Pull together balance sheet reconciliations, flagging variances and clearing down open items.
- Provide clean, complete and on-time data for internal reporting and management information.
- Field audit queries at year-end, gathering the requested information and keeping supporting evidence well organised.
- Assist on the insurance side of accounting, including premium and claims entries, reconciliations and associated reporting.
- Lend a hand on statutory, regulatory and IFRS 17 submissions through data preparation, checking and reconciliation work.
- Play your part in tightening controls and governance, and get behind wider process-improvement and automation projects as the team evolves.
Skills & Experience
- Some grounding already in a finance role — whether that's accounts or finance assistant, purchase ledger, accounts payable, bookkeeping or similar.
- A solid grasp of core accounting concepts, how double-entry works, and why clean, accurate records matter.
- A naturally precise, detail-driven way of working when handling transactions and reconciliations.
- Well organised, able to juggle competing demands, hit deadlines and see tasks through to the end.
- Comfortable in Excel and across the rest of the Microsoft Office toolkit.
- Genuinely curious and keen to improve — happy to ask questions, pick things up quickly and keep developing.
- A strong communicator who builds easy working relationships across finance and the wider business.
- Trustworthy, dependable and discreet when dealing with confidential financial information.
Desirable Qualifications
- A background in insurance, financial services or another regulated setting.
- Hands-on experience with an accounting package such as Sage.
- Some prior exposure to month-end, balance sheet reconciliations or IFRS 17.
- Already studying, or ready to start studying, towards AAT, ACCA or CIMA — full support is provided.
If you are passionate about this opportunity and meet the qualifications and skills outlined, we encourage you to promptly submit your CV for consideration. Please note that the duties mentioned above are not exhaustive, and the role's responsibilities may evolve in response to changing circumstances and requirements.
Sure Commercial Limited (trading as Sure Exec Search) is a proud Equal Opportunities employer and does not discriminate against any candidate on the grounds of age, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, marriage and civil partnerships, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Policy is available on request.