Partnership Accountant

The role is currently being considered across our London, Birmingham, and Northampton offices.

Qualifications, skills, and all relevant experience needed for this role can be found in the full description below.
The Partnership Accountant will take ownership of complex partner financial arrangements across remuneration, drawings, capital, tax reserves and reporting. The role requires strong LLP accounting knowledge, technical judgement, discretion and the confidence to work directly with partners, senior stakeholders and external advisers.
Key Responsibilities
1. Partner Remuneration, Distributions & Accounts
Lead the calculation of monthly drawings, quarterly distributions and annual profit allocations in line with the LLP Agreement
Maintain and control partner remuneration, capital, current and tax reserve accounts, with clear reconciliations to the general ledger
Prepare forward-looking analysis of partner distributions, tax payments and cashflow impacts to support planning and decision-making
Oversee partner annuity, capital contribution, repayment and funding arrangements, ensuring accuracy and appropriate documentation
2. Tax, International & Adviser Support
Own partner tax schedules, tax reserve analysis and coordination of payments to HMRC
Act as a key Finance contact for external tax advisers, supporting technical queries and partner communications
Prepare personal expenditure, taxable profit adjustments and supporting schedules for year-end review
Support salaried member/disguised remuneration testing and related compliance evidence
Manage international partner profit allocations, tax reserves, withholding considerations, payment cycles and multi-currency/Fx impacts
3. Reporting, Analysis & Partner Lifecycle
Prepare accurate, insightful partner reporting for audit, year-end, business planning and senior stakeholder review
Support partnership analysis, gender pay gap reporting and ad hoc financial modelling linked to partner profitability and performance
Manage partner onboarding, retirements and exits, including financial illustrations, settlement calculations and partner confirmations
4. Governance, Compliance, Systems & Stakeholders
Ensure partner finance processes operate in line with the LLP Agreement, internal policies, audit expectations and regulatory requirements
Maintain robust controls, audit trails and documentation over sensitive partner financial data
Identify and implement process improvements, including system accuracy, Gift Aid recording and liaison with the Charities Aid Foundation
Build trusted relationships with partners, senior leadership, tax advisers and audit teams, providing clear and commercially aware support
Skills & Experience
Essential
Significant partnership accounting / LLP experience, including partner remuneration, profit allocation, capital accounts and current accounts
Strong understanding of UK partner tax processes, tax reserves and the interaction between accounting profit and partner tax liabilities
Advanced Excel, financial modelling, analytical review and complex reconciliation capability
High technical accuracy, discretion and credibility when dealing with partners, senior stakeholders and professional advisers
Desirable
Experience in multi-entity, international or complex professional services environments
Knowledge of finance systems, reporting tools and process improvement, preferably including SAP
Familiarity with LLP agreements, partner governance frameworks and external adviser relationships
Personal Attributes
Highly organised, technically rigorous and able to manage sensitive work to demanding deadlines
Proactive, solutions-focused and confident exercising judgement while knowing when to escalate
Clear and credible communicator with strong commercial awareness, sound risk judgement and a continuous improvement mindset
The firm
Shoosmiths is the law firm clients choose for excellent service, incisive thinking and above all for our ability to focus on what matters. From offices across the UK and Brussels, we support some of the world's most exciting and ambitious businesses; amazing clients making an impact. We empower our people to be their authentic selves and deliver together in supportive teams committed to excellence and innovation. The first top 50 law firm to achieve ‘Platinum Standard' Investors in People, our values and culture are not just words on our website but are the heartbeat of the firm.
We have an outstanding benefits package to complement our competitive remuneration system. In addition to the competitive salaries, great working environment and high-quality work, we believe that all staff should be rewarded for their commitment to the continued success of the firm through a comprehensive and flexible range of benefits.
To discover more about our benefits, please visit: Benefits Package
Shoosmiths is proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. Disability Confident is a government scheme designed to encourage employers to recruit and retain disabled people and those with long term conditions. The Disability Confident scheme replaced the Two Ticks Positive about Disabled People scheme. We had been accredited as a two tick employer for many years - Disability Confident broadens and develops that original commitment, and demonstrates we have adopted a proactive approach to employing disabled people and developing their abilities.
As part of our accreditation, we commit to interviewing any applicants with a disability who meet the essential criteria for each vacancy. In some circumstances we may only be able to interview those that best meet the essential criteria due to the volume of applications received.
Further information on the Disability Confident scheme is available at /government/collections/disability-confident-campaign
We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible to and usable by everyone. If you have a disability or long-term condition and would like to receive information in a different way, or need us to make any adjustments, changes or do anything differently during the recruitment process, please get in touch with the Talent Acquisition team. We can consider your needs and requirements, and how we can assist you to apply for our roles. xrexnqw For example we can provide a copy of our application via email so that you can complete it using your own accessibility software.