Accountant

Accountant Location: Hybrid (Johannesburg) | Work Model: Remote | Supporting: An established UK accountancy practice The Opportunity Build on your UK accounts and tax experience while working as an embedded member of an established UK accountancy practice. GCO Partners is looking for an experienced Senior Accountant to support a UK practice's portfolio managers across annual accounts, management accounts, Corporation Tax and VAT work for a varied portfolio of small-to-medium sized limited companies. This role suits someone who enjoys getting to grips with a business's numbers end-to-end, from the underlying bookkeeping and working papers through to the finished set of accounts and the tax return that follows it. You'll work across a broad compliance caseload, picking up new clients and industries with minimal hand-holding. You will work with a range of small and medium sized limited companies across varied industries, gaining exposure to UK clients, UK compliance standards and practice-based accounting work, while remaining based in South Africa. What We're Looking For Ideally you'll bring a good mix of the following: Practical experience in UK accounts preparation and tax compliance, ideally within an accountancy practice Experience preparing management accounts for small and medium sized clients Good working knowledge of UK GAAP and/or FRS 102 / FRS 105 Experience preparing and reviewing Corporation Tax computations and returns Experience preparing and submitting VAT returns Strong Excel and financial analysis skills Experience preparing detailed working papers and supporting schedules Comfort working across multiple clients or assignments with competing deadlines Strong attention to detail and a methodical approach to reviewing financial information Clear, professional written and verbal communication, and the confidence to work directly with clients under manager oversight You don't need to tick every box above, what matters most is solid, practical UK practice-based accounting experience and the confidence to pick up a varied portfolio with minimal training. Qualifications A relevant professional accounting qualification, or progress towards one, is advantageous, for example CA(SA)/SAICA, ACCA, SAIPA/PA(SA), AAT/AT(SA), CIMA/CGMA, or an equivalent recognised qualification. Practical UK accounts, tax and VAT experience matters more to us than the specific professional body through which you qualified. Systems Experience Strong Microsoft Excel skills are essential, along with working knowledge of Xero and/or QuickBooks. Experience with TaxCalc, Engager, or other cloud accounting or practice management software is an advantage, as is comfort with data analysis tools or more advanced Excel functions. Who Thrives in This Role Senior Accountants who are: Comfortable working across different clients and industries Confident moving between accounts preparation, tax and management accounts Able to adapt to shifting client deadlines and wider team workloads Proactive, and comfortable picking up a new client file and getting on with it Methodical, detail-oriented and able to explain their work clearly Able to identify what needs attention and flag it to their manager, and where appropriate the client directly Interested in working with a UK team and gaining further exposure to UK businesses and accountancy practice standards Why GCO Partners GCO Partners connects high-performing professionals from Africa with meaningful international work. As a GCO professional on this contract, you'll: Apply your accounts, tax and VAT expertise in an international environment Work directly with an established UK accountancy practice Gain exposure to UK clients, UK compliance standards and practice-based accounting work Develop your experience across accounts, tax compliance and management accounts Build international experience without relocating Join a people-first organisation that values quality, accountability and professional growth Remain connected to the wider GCO community while working as an embedded member of the client team At GCO, our work is guided by three passions: People, Performance and Progress. We invest in strong relationships, hold ourselves to high standards and continuously look for better ways to work.