Mastering Accruals, Prepayments & other monthend procedures

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How to write professional cover letters for job applications

As much as you can, avoid sending a CV alone when applying for a job. Whether you hear about the job opening from a friend, read about it in the newspaper or a magazine, or nd it in any job listings, learn as much as you can about the employer and the job and use this information to develop your cover letters.

Letters are personal communications from you to another individual. Your letters should have absolutely no errors: no typos, no misspelled words and no noticeable corrections.
Each letter you write should be short, fitting easily on one page with generous margins on all sides. Paragraphs should be limited to four to six lines whenever possible, because business letters are usually scanned quickly. The first line of each paragraph is most important and the last line is second most important.

As you work on drafts of letters, try reading only the rst lines of each paragraph to see what information is communicated.
Your name and address should be typed on the letter. Standard business form, with your address and the date at the top right, the addressee’s name and address at the le just above the salutation, is preferable. At the end of the letter, your full name should be typed below your signature.

Letters should be addressed to an individual by name, with correct title and address. In most correspondence the salutation will be ‘’Dear Mr. Jones’’, ‘’Dear Ms. Jenkins’’. First names should not be used unless you are personally acquainted with the addressee. It is advisable to try to nd out whether a woman prefers to be addressed as ‘’Miss’’, ‘’Mrs’’ or ‘’Ms’’, but if her preference is not known, ‘’Ms.’’ is acceptable.

There are two kinds of letters you will be writing during your job search: letters applying for a job (cover letters), and follow-up letters.

Cover letters

The objective of the cover letter is to impress the employer with your quali cations, motivation and interest in the job so that he will want to interview you. e rst paragraph should identify clearly what job you are applying for and why you are interested in the job. If a mutual friend recommended that you apply for the job, mention their name.

Follow-up letters

In follow-up letters your objective is to say thank you, to express interest in a continuing relationship, and to structure the next step.

I hope you found this useful.

Sterling

VAT return preparation in 5 easy steps

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Every VAT return you process should be submitted to HMRC on time every tax period.
A tax period for VAT is usually three months. Any payment of VAT that is due should reach HMRC by the due date. 

Here is how to produce, reconcile and submit VAT returns to HMRC if the organisation you are working for is VAT registered.

The 5 simple steps you should follow:

1. Gather together your business records for the tax period
2. Use the business records to create your VAT account for the period and from your records, establish: 
a. VAT due in the period on sales and other outputs
b. VAT due in the period on acquisitions from other EC (European Community) member states
c. VAT reclaimed in the period on purchases and other inputs (including acquisitions from the EC)
d. Total Value of sales and all other outputs excluding any VAT
e. Total value of purchases and all other inputs excluding any VAT
f. Total value of all supplies of goods and related costs, excluding any VAT, to other EC member states
g. Total Value of acquisitions of goods and related costs excluding any VAT, from EC member states.

3. Once you have established the figures in 2(a-g) above use them to fill the VAT return online form
4. Review the online form to make sure that all the entries are correct
5. Submit the VAT return electronically online and reconcile the VAT return in your accounting system. Remember to make arrangement to pay any VAT due (if applicable) as soon as possible. If you are due a repayment form HM Excise and Customs, a payment will be sent to you. 

I hope you find it helpful.

Top tips on how to get accounting jobs in the UK

1. Here are five things you should put on your CV

• The CV needs to be relevant to the Job you are applying for
  
• Show you have a range of relevant experience
  
• Clearly state your qualifications
  
• Show you can respond to challenges
  
• Detail your achievements

Qualifications like ACCA, CIMA, AAT, ICAEW will arm you with the knowledge and skills that project solid technical and professional capabilities.

When applying for roles, you need to find out where your strengths lie and what really interests you when applying for roles.
Take some time to do some work experience within a finance department and gain solid relevant practical work experience in accountancy.

2. Here are five things to do during an interview

If you are successful in a job application and you are called for an interview, here are top ve things you should do during your interview:

• Be honest – don’t try to make up an answer if you don’t know something.
  
• Show evidence of your competencies.
  
• Communicate clearly – eye contact, answering questions fully, using appropriate language are all important.
  
• Show passion for the company.
  
• Be professional.

Besides knowing what you should do at interviews, you should also know what you should not do at interviews. Here they are:

• Don’t rush into giving an answer or response to a question, ensure you understand what’s being asked and consider the context of the question.
• Do not go unprepared and make sure you have thought about the sort of questions you might be asked and have examples for each question. 
• Refrain from using technical jargon where possible and talk about your contribution to a task, not just what your opinion or point of view on the subject. 

All the best to you.

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