Assistant Accountant

Role: Finance Apprentice Location: Warrington, WA1 4RZ Hours: 37.5hpw, 08:00-16:00 Monday to Friday Salary: £8.00 p/hr  Are you organised, detail-oriented and keen to build a career in accounting? Join us at Warrington as a Finance Apprentice and gain hands-on experience within a busy Finance team while studying towards a nationally recognised qualification.   You'll complete the Level 3 Assistant Accountant Apprenticeship Standard through Warrington & Vale Royal College, developing knowledge and skills in accounting principles, financial processes, business communication and professional practice.The programme follows a weekly day-release model, meaning you'll typically spend one day each week at the Warrington & Vale Royal College campus and the remainder of the week gaining practical experience on-site with our Finance team in Warrington. This blend of classroom learning and real-world application will help you build a strong foundation for a successful career in finance.   What You'll Be Doing Working alongside experienced finance professionals, you'll support a range of financial and administrative activities, including: * Processing purchase invoices and credit notes * Supporting supplier payments and expense administration * Reconciling supplier statements and maintaining accurate records * Responding to finance queries from colleagues and suppliers * Maintaining financial information and supporting reporting activities * Assisting with general office and administrative tasks to support the wider team What We're Looking For  We're looking for someone who: * Has strong attention to detail and enjoys working with numbers * Communicates clearly and professionally * Is organised, reliable and eager to learn * Works well as part of a team * Has experience using Microsoft Office or other digital tools * Wants to develop a long-term career in accounting and finance * Hold at least a Grade 4 (or above) in either GCSE Maths or English  If you're looking for an exciting first step into the world of finance and want to gain a qualification while building your career, we'd love to hear from you!   We welcome applicants from all backgrounds. Even if you don’t meet every single requirement, we encourage you to apply. We value potential and are committed to supporting your growth in the role. At Dennis Eagle we are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and a disability confident organisation. We are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace where diversity is celebrated. As part of our dedication to creating a supportive environment, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy. We invite you to engage in an open conversation with us about how we can best support you and ensure that your unique skills and talents are recognised and valued. Your success is integral to our collective growth, and we look forward to working together to create a workplace that empowers everyone to thrive.   WHY YOU’LL LOVE WORKING HERE: * 25 days holiday plus Bank Holidays: this is based on a 5 day working week (pro rata to 20 days plus Bank Holidays for a 4 day working week) * Enhanced Pension Scheme and DIS Benefit: The company contributes 5% of total salary into our pension scheme, and 5x basic salary Death In Service. * Employee Assistance Programme: Access a 24-hour helpline for support with life's challenges, including stress & anxiety, bereavement, relationship advice, tenancy & housing concerns, counselling, financial wellbeing, legal information, substance issues, family matters, childcare support, medical information, and consumer issues. * Health Shield Medical Cash Plan: All employees receive membership to a company-funded medical cash plan. This scheme allows you to claim cash back for medical expenses, including prescriptions, dental, optical, physiotherapy, specialist consultations, X-rays, and MRI scans. * GP Anytime: Enjoy access to GP services anytime with our online 24/7 appointment service, featuring on-demand appointments, unlimited consultations, no capped appointment times, and convenient prescriptions. * Training and Development: We offer mandatory equipment training, a Management Development Programme, and opportunities to upskill through apprenticeships. * Cycle to Work Scheme: Save on commuting costs and stay healthy with our cycle to work scheme. * Care Concierge: Get help navigating the care system with access to a team of dedicated care experts. * Occupational Health Support and Health Surveillance: Ensure your well-being with our comprehensive occupational health support. * My Benefits Platform: Enjoy discounts from high street retailers, health & wellness services, entertainment & days out, and home & DIY products. * Independent Free Mortgage Advice: Receive free, independent advice on mortgages to help you make informed decisions.   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please don’t delay your application, this role could be filled at any time for the right candidate. Please be aware that Dennis Eagle is not a sponsoring organisation. Therefore the successful applicant must already possess the right to work in the UK or be able to secure the right to work in the UK independently. If you'd like to learn more about how we handle your information, please check out our Job Applicant Privacy Notice by clicking here. [https://www.dennis-eagle.co.uk/globalassets/dennis-eagle-uk/documents/job-applicant-privacy-notice.pdf]

Valarian: Innovating for the new era of digital sovereignty Valarian Technologies is a dual-use technology company building critical tools to safeguard the future in an era of evolving global security challenges. We're rethinking security beyond traditional military domains, addressing asymmetric threats that impact our technological advantage, economic strength, and democratic institutions.   We build Acra – the platform foundation for everything we do as a dual-use technology company. The platform’s name, rooted in the Greek word for citadel (or, fortress), reflects the design and purpose of our infrastructure-agnostic secure enclaves: protecting critical data. Some of the government and commercial workflows include: increased operational resiliency for mission-critical systems and functions; enabling organisations to more quickly and widely adopt emerging technologies while ensuring the integrity of their intellectual property; information flow during disaster response scenarios, and zero-trust / least-privilege environments for M&A, attorney-client privileged communications, etc. And we’ve only scratched the surface.   At our core, we're driven by a shared mission and a belief in making a tangible impact on our world. Whether you join our London HQ or the wider global organisation, you’ll be a part of collaborative, high-performing teams, creating cutting-edge software, platforms, and infrastructure. The Role   We are looking for a hands-on Assistant Accountant to join our growing finance team as our second finance hire. This is a broad, high-ownership role in an early-stage business where the finance function is still being built. You will support the day-to-day running of finance while helping introduce better controls, clearer processes, stronger accountability, and more reliable reporting. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys operating in a fast-moving environment, is comfortable with ambiguity, and wants to help build the finance foundations of a scaling company. This is not a narrow transactional finance role. You will be expected to roll up your sleeves, keep the basics running, spot issues, improve processes, and help create discipline across the business.   What you’ll do Finance operations Own day-to-day accounts payable, including supplier onboarding, invoice processing, coding, approval tracking, payment runs, and supplier queries. Support accounts receivable, including customer invoicing, payment tracking, reconciliations, and debt follow-up where needed. Manage employee expenses and company card processes, ensuring spend is correctly coded, approved, and supported by receipts. Maintain accurate finance records in the accounting system and ensure transactions are posted on a timely basis. Perform regular bank reconciliations and investigate unreconciled or unusual items. Help maintain clean supplier, customer, and general ledger data. Month-end and reporting Support the month-end close process, including journals, accruals, prepayments, fixed assets, deferred revenue, and balance sheet reconciliations. Help prepare monthly finance packs, management reports, and variance analysis. Track spend by department, vendor, and budget owner, highlighting unusual movements or missing approvals. Support cash flow tracking, burn analysis, and runway reporting. Help improve the accuracy, consistency, and timeliness of financial reporting. Controls, processes, and accountability Help design and embed basic finance controls across purchasing, approvals, payments, expenses, billing, and reconciliations. Create and maintain simple, practical finance processes, checklists, and documentation. Follow up with budget owners and employees to ensure finance deadlines, approvals, and policies are met. Identify process gaps, control weaknesses, duplicated work, and recurring errors, then help fix them. Support the implementation or improvement of finance tools, workflows, and reporting processes. Help establish a culture where financial ownership, documentation, and accountability are taken seriously. Compliance and admin Support VAT, tax, payroll, audit, and statutory reporting processes as required. Assist with preparation for investor reporting, board packs, R&D claims, or other external reporting where relevant. Maintain organised finance records and supporting documentation. Work with external accountants, auditors, payroll providers, and tax advisers as needed. What you’ll bring 2–4 years of experience in finance, accounting, bookkeeping, or finance operations. Experience in a startup, scale-up, or fast-moving environment is highly desirable. A good understanding of accounting principles and a willingness to develop knowledge across areas such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, reconciliations, month-end, and financial reporting. Part-qualified ACCA, CIMA, ACA, or equivalent experience preferred. Comfortable working in an environment where processes are not yet perfect and where you will need to help build them. Strong attention to detail and a high level of personal accountability. Confident following up with people across the business to get approvals, receipts, explanations, and actions completed. Able to prioritise competing tasks and keep finance operations moving without constant supervision. Good Excel / Google Sheets skills. Experience with accounting systems such as Xero or similar. Experience with tools such as Pleo, Spendesk, Dext, HubSpot, or similar is a plus. The kind of person who will succeed here You are organised, reliable, and proactive. You do not wait for perfect instructions before getting started. You are comfortable asking questions, chasing people, and bringing order to messy situations. You care about accuracy, but you are also pragmatic and understand that growing businesses require pace, judgement, and continuous improvement. You will enjoy this role if you like fixing broken processes, making finance run more smoothly, and seeing the direct impact of your work on how the company operates. What success looks like in the first 6 months Supplier invoices, expenses, payments, and reconciliations are processed accurately and on time. Month-end close is more structured, better documented, and completed faster. Core balance sheet reconciliations are reliable and regularly reviewed. Spend approvals, expense policies, and payment controls are clearer and better followed. Finance data is cleaner, easier to trust, and easier to report from. Budget owners understand what finance needs from them and are held accountable to deadlines. Recurring manual work, control gaps, and process failures have been identified and improved. The operational finance engine is running more reliably, allowing for strategic finance, reporting, planning, and supporting the wider business. Why join us This is an opportunity to join an ambitious, growing business and play a key role in building the finance function. You will get broad exposure, real responsibility, ongoing development, and the chance to grow your career while helping shape how finance supports the wider business. Benefits Our benefits are designed to ensure our employees feel taken care of and are proud to be a part of the Valarian team. We are committed to consistently enhancing our benefit package, taking into account the overall well-being and needs of our teammates. Here are the key benefits accessible to all employees at Valarian Technologies: Equity – because you have the right to own what you’re building A competitive salary – because we value your unique skills Employer pension contributions – because you deserve a secure future Private health insurance - because your health is important to us Hybrid work setup – because everyone has different needs Rewarding company retreats and meetups that respect your work/life balance – because we love getting to know each other! Life at Valarian Our culture is built on inclusivity, compassion and flexibility – we want everyone to be empowered to achieve their goals at Valarian. The world is changing, and so is our way of working. If you want to join us in the London office – it’s quite nice! – you’re welcome to; and if you’d prefer to work remotely, that’s fine too. And as we build elegant solutions to simplify the complexities of business collaboration, we also simplify work life: contribute wherever and whenever allows you to be your best self. We trust each other to consistently raise the bar, and we challenge each other to continually reach new heights.