ROLE PROFILE Assistant Stock Accountant Department:Finance Reports to:Senior Stock Accountant

Location:
Theale, Reading Hours of Work:Monday - Friday, 9.00am - 17.30pm Contract type: Permanent About Us Established in 1984, Westcoast Ltd is a privately held company that distributes leading IT brands such as HP, HPE, Microsoft, Lenovo, Apple and many others to a broad range of resellers, retailers and office product dealers in the UK and beyond. Since then we've grown to become the number one UK distributor for many of our vendors and customers and the group employs more than 1,300 people across a number of locations in the UK, Ireland and Europe. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of everybody at Westcoast the company is flourishing. Our revenues have seen a sharp increase in recent years reaching £2.5 billion in 2018. We are consistently ranked in the Sunday Times Top Track of the 100 Largest Privately-owned UK Companies, and are now the largest privately-held business in the Thames Valley region as well as the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year 2018. Job Purpose We've seen fantastic growth over recent years at Westcoast and have recently announced plans to expand our operational capacity in 2019 - opening a new warehousing facility which will double our warehousing space to allow us to store a massive 60,000 pallet locations. To support with our growth, we have the opportunity for a part-qualified finance professional to join our Finance team, expanding our Stock Accounting function. The Job Role Accounting for £220m of stock in multiple warehouses across the UK and Europe, you will work alongside our Stock Accountants and Auditor to; Establish and implement policies and procedures for inventory Be proactively involved in the accounting and validation of weekly/monthly stock movements and adjustments Reconcile all Balance Sheet Stock Accounts to the system on a daily, weekly and monthly basis You'll be highly analytical, confident and proactive in resolving issues and problem solving. A good understanding of stock related operational activities is key for this role and you'll have excellent knowledge on the controls required to monitor large quantities of complex stock movements. Our Stock Accountants and Auditor have a strong team environment and are always evolving and developing their processes and ways of working, supporting each other to complete tasks and achieve goals and objectives. There is an open-door communication policy, and a supportive atmosphere with a focus on coaching to help you develop and be successful in your role. Experience with stock accounting is essential for this role. Ideally, you'll be part-qualified or an ACCA finalist, but if not we're able to provide sponsorship and support for ACCA or CIMA after 6 months in your role. Key Responsibilities Reconcile warehouse stock adjustment balance sheet accounts daily and highlight exceptions to the Stock Auditor/Stock Accountant for further investigation Cross charging any amounts coded to Stock Loss to entities within the group via inter-company accounts and securing funding from the Product Managers for any amounts remaining, ensuring stock loss is limited to a bare minimum Perform reconciliations between the General Ledger and Warehouses for multiple warehouses in multiple locations, and highlight material differences to the Stock Accountant Reconcile GRNC and GDNI timing difference accounts monthly and raise ad-hoc manual accruals when required Process and post accrual, timing difference and other stock related Journals Run a report for negative balances (VAR), review and report variances to IT Calculate stock provision in line with the company's stock provisioning policy Liaise with Commercial Accounts, Product Managers and Accounts Payable to ensure that outstanding balances on the Supplier Returns Account are cleared and that money due to Westcoast is collected and credited promptly Reconcile and clear the Stock Transfers Account for inter-warehouse and internal stock transfers Work closely with Stock Accountant and Stock Auditor to resolve any issues Undertake ad-hoc tasks where required to support the Stock Accounting function and wider Finance team Key Skills ACCA part-qualified or finalist, or qualified by experience Good understanding of stock related operational activities and the controls required to monitor large quantities of complex stock movements. Highly proactive with strong analytical, troubleshooting and problem-solving skills High degree of accuracy and attention to detail Excellent written and verbal communication skills, confident in communicating with all levels within the business Excellent time management skills, with the ability to prioritise workload and work to deadlines Remains calm and productive under pressure Able to work well both independently and as part of a team
• Good interpersonal skills, able to build relationships internally Strong numerical skills, confident and capable with working with numbers Advanced Microsoft Excel skills What we offer Full training and on-going Learning and Development support, with excellent career progression Learning and Development opportunities with funded NVQ/work based studies/professional qualifications Employee referral bonus Auto enrolment pension Perkbox - instant access to a wide range of high street, leisure and utility discounts and perks Staff purchases - discounted IT, electronics, mobiles and accessories Eye care scheme Cycle to work scheme If you are interested in this position, please send your CV with a cover letter stating your salary requirements. NO AGENCIES PLEASE