Group Accountant

Axon Moore are proud to be recruiting a Group Accountant for a hugely successful organisation that operates within the facilities management space. Through a combination of impressive organic growth and PE backed acquisitions the business has expanded significantly over the last few years, now turning over circa £250m and employing over 2000 people.  The growth and success continues year on year and as of such the finance function has grown in accordance with this. The Group Accountant role is a key part of the central group finance team, created to ensure first in class delivery of robust transactional accounting records to facilitate the exciting plans for the business’ future.

Specially the Group Accountant will have responsibility for robust accounting, recharging, and reporting of central costs, as well as supporting the Group Statutory Accountant on financial reporting requirements. This is a newly created role and a key element of it will be embedding new ways of working and ensuring best practice approaches are adopted.

Key Accountabilities:

Central costs:

• Act as Finance Manager for central costs, ensuring accurate reporting of costs as well as appropriate recharge to wider business
• Business partnering with budget/cost centre owners
• Provision of insightful analysis on group costs including monitoring and review of spend versus budget, investigating variances and highlighting risks and opportunities.
• Preparation of central costs budget and forecasts
• Tracking of costs throughout the year
• Ensuring centrally managed processes such as payroll, tax, insurance, professional fees are fit for purpose and accounting transactions are recorded accurately.

Accounting & Reporting:

• Completion or review of assigned balance sheet reconciliations
• Support on driving a timely and accurate period end close, ensuring all businesses submit required templates on time and then input into consolidation of group result
• Support Group Statutory Accountant on Head Office accounts, external financial reporting requirements and audit.
• Review of capex and opex costs ensuring correct accounting treatment
• Ensure inter-company balances reconcile and agreed each period, with timely follow up of any variances.
• Support on technical accounting areas (e.g., IFRS16)

Other:

• Support on ad-hoc projects and process improvements
• Reviewing and developing accounting processes and controls, as well as identifying system improvement opportunities.

Person Specification:

• Qualified Accountant (ACA/ACCA/CIMA)
• Experience of group accounting and/or working in a centralised finance team of a large group would be advantageous
• Strong knowledge of accounting standards and their appropriate application
• Basic understanding of UK taxation
• Ability to implement best practice processes and controls
• Business partnering skills desirable given focus on central overhead costs and inter-company recharges
• Highly credible and able to quickly build effective working relationships
• Can engage, challenge and influence others at a senior stakeholder level through verbal and written communication
• Pragmatic and flexible in approach
• Self-starter and able to work autonomously
• Strong time management and the ability to prioritise

This is a fantastic opportunity to join a flourishing business, gain exposure to acquisitions, private equity investors and to really mould this new role in your own image; driving change and improvements putting yourself in a prominent position for more senior opportunities in the future.