Principal Accountant

About the role

Tangerine Tax, a UK‑based accountancy and tax practice serving technology companies, is looking for an experienced Principal Accountant. You will manage a portfolio of UK clients, provide technical leadership to a Colombo team, and act as the primary escalation point for complex accounting and tax matters.

Key responsibilities

• Manage a diverse portfolio of UK clients, prepare presentation decks for monthly and onboarding meetings, and lead client discussions.
• Deliver routine accountancy services including management accounts, VAT returns, payroll, year‑end statutory accounts, corporation tax computations and self‑assessment returns.
• Review work of junior and senior accountants to ensure technical accuracy and compliance with UK legislation.
• Support clients with accounting software implementation, process improvements and automation initiatives using AI.
• Lead ad‑hoc finance, compliance and improvement projects, and drive best practice across the business.

Required profile

• Minimum 5 years of experience in a UK accountancy practice with a fully qualified ACCA, CIMA, ICAEW, ICAS, CMA or equivalent.
• Proven ability to manage a client portfolio, mentor junior staff and communicate confidently with business owners.
• Commercially minded, highly organised, detail‑oriented and able to thrive in a fast‑paced environment.

Required skills

• Strong technical knowledge of UK accounting standards, corporation tax, VAT, payroll, self‑assessment and year‑end accounts.
• Proficiency in Xero and Microsoft Excel.
• Experience with cloud accounting platforms such as QuickBooks, Sage and FreeAgent.
• Familiarity with TaxCalc, Dext, Hubdoc or similar document‑capture tools.

What we offer

• Competitive salary and discretionary annual bonus.
• Professional qualification support through a structured training contract.
• Private pension, medical, critical illness and life insurance.
• Ongoing learning, development and clear career progression opportunities.