Assistant Accountant

About the Role

Looking to start your career in finance with a global organisation where you can develop your accounting skills, work with financial data, and gain exposure to financial reporting, regulatory processes and insurance operations? As an Assistant Accountant, you'll support financial reporting and month-end activities, work closely with experienced finance professionals, and build the technical knowledge and practical experience needed to develop a successful career in finance.

What part will you play? If you’re looking for a place where you can make a meaningful difference, you’ve found it. The work we do at Markel gives people the confidence to move forward and seize opportunities, and you’ll find your fit amongst our global community of optimists and problem-solvers. We’re always pushing each other to go further because we believe that when we realize our potential, we can help others reach theirs. Join us and play your part in something special!

The Opportunity

This is an exciting chance to work with Markel’s Finance department. Markel’s Accounting and Finance department supports the four divisions and offices across the UK, Europe, Canada and Asia Pacific. The role of Finance at Markel is varied, they are responsible for recording financial transactions, providing financial information to the Markel Corporation, ensuring compliance of legal and regulatory reporting obligations, and providing accurate financial performance information to key decision makers. The successful candidate will be an important part of the wider team within Finance and will be encouraged to quickly establish strong working relationships with colleagues and external stakeholders.

What you’ll be doing

• Become familiar with all current systems.
• Work effectively and efficiently to adhere to internal and external reporting deadlines.
• Support the preparation of various UK GAAP financial statements and regulatory returns.
• Assist in the quarterly financial close process including preparation of US GAAP accounting and disclosures, preparing balance sheet reconciliation and analysis.
• Analyse data in order to create periodic reports for the Finance department.
• Coordinate with members of the financial team to schedule meetings and take minutes.
• Assist with other work across the wider Finance team.
• Liaise and communicate effectively across Finance and other departments.
• Greatly enhance your knowledge and use of Excel in a professional setting.
• Take part in structured training conducted by senior employees with an extensive amount of knowledge in the industry to ultimately help successful candidates learn the fundamentals of insurance.
• Develop your career, with regular check-ins to ensure you are fully supported in progressing and gaining more autonomy within your role.

Our must-haves

• Are proactive and show a willingness to learn.
• Are collaborative with excellent interpersonal skills, capable of both working independently and well as part of a team.
• Are self-motivated individuals who possess an inquisitive nature.
• Are organised individuals with the ability to prioritise tasks efficiently and flexibly.
• Can display clarity of thought, as well as strong attention to detail.
• Are resilient and analytical problem solvers who are eager to work with data whilst maintaining a high level of accuracy.
• Demonstrate some experience working with Excel.
• Are a fast learner who asks questions and can pick up new systems quickly.

What is available to you

You’ll get support every step of the way – we know that starting out in a new role and industry can be daunting but Markel’s ego-free environment gives you all the support that you need to go further and achieve great things.

• Support for your professional development, including the opportunity to work towards recognised accountancy qualifications such as AAT, ACCA, SIGMA and ACA, helping you build the skills and confidence to progress your career in finance.
• Exposure to a number of departments ultimately will lead to a broader understanding of the business and an opportunity to accelerate your career.
• A genuine culture of camaraderie - at Markel, our shared values aren’t buzzwords. We really mean what we say in the Markel Style, and walk the talk, every day.
• Enjoy your free coffee as you admire 360 degree views of London from our office on the 26th floor of the Walkie Talkie building!
• Be part of our growing early career's community – through socials and other events you will have every opportunity to network and build great relationships with your peers both inside and outside of Markel.
• Competitive starting salary with an excellent package - including; private medical insurance, financial education, hybrid work structure, gym discounts, cycle-to-work scheme, motor breakdown cover, income protection and additional countless benefits that will be shared at the first stage of the process!

Who we are

Markel Group (NYSE – MKL) a Fortune 500 company with over 60 offices in 20+ countries, is a holding company for insurance, reinsurance, specialist advisory, and investment operations around the world.

We’re all about people | We win together | We strive for better | We enjoy the everyday | We think further

What’s in it for you?

A great starting salary plus annual bonus & strong benefits package…

• 25 days paid holiday plus Bank Holidays, with the opportunity to buy/sell extra leave
• Fantastic company pension scheme, private medical and dental cover, life assurance, travel insurance cover, income protection, season ticket loan as well as other great benefits on offer

There are countless opportunities to learn new skills and develop in your career, and we can provide the support needed to do just that!

Are you ready to play your part?

Choose ‘Apply Now’ to fill out our short application, so that we can find out more about you. Markel celebrates the value of a diverse workforce that brings experience and expertise from a wide variety of backgrounds and life circumstances. Whatever your background, if you feel you meet the requirements of this role then we want to hear from you. We are also happy to consider candidates who are looking for flexible working patterns. We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, national origin, sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided with all reasonable accommodations to be able to participate in the job application or interview process and to perform essential job functions if successful. Please contact us via email at rec@markel.com or call us at 0161 507 5827 to request any accommodations that may be needed. This includes any alternative formats of any documents or information on how to apply offline.

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