Accountant

Freshfields Overview

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is a leader among international law firms, providing business law advice of the highest quality throughout Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the United States.

With over 2,500 lawyers, we provide ground-breaking legal advice to national and multi-national corporations, financial institutions and governments on the most complex matters and disputes all over the world.

In Asia, we are located in 7 cities across China, Japan, Vietnam and Singapore.

Overview of the Function

The Accountant will be based in Singapore and is responsible for daily accounting functions of the Singapore office. This role will work closely with the Finance Manager – Singapore and Financial Controller – Asia, based in Hong Kong, and the Office Manager in Singapore.

Key responsibilities and deliverables

• Responsible for daily accounting operational functions, month end closing, audit, annual return and other reporting
• Bank reconciliation and cashflow forecast
• Assisting in budget preparation and cost analysis
• Preparation of regular and ad-hoc analysis and reports
• Liaising with external auditors, tax advisor, company secretary and other service providers
• Liaising with internal stakeholders including partners, and other business services functions.
• Responding to internal enquiries and requests on financial matters
• Tax compliance - Preparation of corporate tax and GST filing with assistance from Asia Tax Manager and external tax advisors, and assisting with staff global mobility tax matters.
• Client money accounting and management in accordance with the Solicitors’ Accounts Rules
• Ensuring statutory compliance e.g. corporate secretarial requirements
• Staying abreast of Singaporean tax and statutory reporting / corporate compliance changes
• Implementing internal policies

Key requirements (Communication/skills/experience)

• Bachelor’s degree in accountancy, ACCA Foundations in Accountancy qualifications or equivalent
• At least 3 years of related experience in accounting
• Excellent verbal and written English communication and interpersonal skills to interact with lawyers and members of the Finance Support and other Business Support functions effectively
• Independent, highly analytical and numerically strong, positive working attitude and strong sense of responsibility and work ethic
• Strong attention to detail, organisation and time management
• Flexible and ability to handle multiple priorities, duties and internal and external clients
• Highly proficient in Excel and MS Word.
• Prior experience in law firms and knowledge of tax and compliance in Singapore are highly preferred