Senior Financial Accountant – Close, Ifrs & Manufacturing

Walkinshaw Automotive Group; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Free onsite parking

Well-being initiatives & EAP

Learning & development opportunities

Job summary

The Carlton Football Club is seeking a Senior Financial Accountant to join the Finance Department at Caulfield Racecourse. You will own general ledgers, manage month-end close, and partner with internal departments on budgeting and reporting.

Reporting to the Finance Operations Manager, you will ensure financial integrity, support statutory obligations, and drive improvements across the club’s accounting processes and reporting cycles.

Qualifications

• Accounting degree and CPA qualifications.
• 5+ years in accounting/finance with general ledger experience.
• Experience leading month-end processes and reconciliations.
• Experience in budgeting, forecasting and variance analysis.
• Strong Excel and reporting skills.

Responsibilities

• Manage month-end reconciliation and GL balances.
• Coordinate year-end close and audit support.
• Ensure adherence to financial policies and procedures.
• Lead month-end closing within 5 days and balance sheet packs.
• Develop and deliver financial policies and governance.

Skills

CPA qualification

Senior financial accounting

Excel advanced

Power BI

Budgeting & forecasting

Communication skills

Education

Accounting degree

Postgraduate accounting qualification (CA/CPA)

Tools

Power BI

Excel

Dynamics 365 Finance

Job description

Job Description

About the Carlton Football Club

The Carlton Football Club is one of Australia’s oldest and most prominent sport institutions. Founded in 1864, the Club’s headquarters and training facilities are located in Carlton at IKON Park, our traditional home ground. Our IKON Park redevelopment is now complete, and we are proud of our state-of-the-art facilities that supports our high-performance environment. We are passionate about our contribution to the Community and foster an inclusive and welcoming culture where our values are at the core of who we are and what we do.

About the Role

As the Financial Accountant you will perform an integral role in the finance team, acting as a key financial conduit across the finance team and internal administration departments within the Club. A broader role than your typical Financial Accountant position, you will have a mix of core accounting and processing responsibilities, coupled with business partnering and analysis support to wider Club departments.

Reporting to the Finance Operations Manager, you will be responsible for assisting the finance department in general ledger ownership and integrations, end of month processes including balance sheet reconciliations and preparation of monthly finance reports, assistance with statutory calculations and GST, FBT reporting and ad hoc business projects and reporting.

A key aspect of this role is to ensure financial integrity, quality, and availability of audit trails for all work performed. You will also gain exposure to the rest of the business, building a strong rapport with staff within other departments across the Club.

Key Responsibilities

• Ownership of the Club and associated entities, general ledgers and integrations from other financial systems across the Club including identifying and managing discrepancies.
• Preparation of month end journals with support from the finance team.
• Key contributor in month end closing procedures, balance sheet reconciliations and supporting finance team in completion of their monthly tasks to ensure an efficient closure each month for accurate and timely reporting.
• Assistance in management of Fixed Asset Register, posting and review of monthly depreciation.
• Assist in the management and reconciliation of Club credit cards, expense claims, and the Club Uber account.
• Process internal business transactions and weekly 1864 café sales and cash reconciliations.
• Support the preparation of statutory obligations for the Club and all subsidiary entities including GST lodgments, FBT lodgments, ASIC compliance, and payroll tax.
• Support wider team with their daily tasks including identifying process improvements, guidance regarding trade debtors and creditors etc.
• Ensure all approvals are obtained in line with the Club’s delegations of authority, where required within the role.
• Support the Accounts Payable Officer where required, and across annual leave periods.
• Assistance and contribution to financial year-end processes including the external audit.
• Key assistance provided to Finance Operations Manager in preparation and management of the annual Club budget, including assistance in monthly reporting across various departments and deadlines.
• Assistance with preparation of monthly finance reports for Finance & Audit Sub-Committee.
• Preparation of tasks towards the financial year end closing procedures for the Club, including assistance in the consolidated financial statements.
• Preparation of reporting on the Club’s philanthropy endeavors with support from Finance Operations Manager.
• Business Partnering across various departments and business units, specifically providing support in their day-to-day operations from a finance perspective, manage and guide their annual budgets, forecasts and identify any process improvements or ways of working to support business units achieve their strategic goals and effective monthly reporting.
• Support and educate departments on their financial acumen.
• Ensure accuracy and timeliness of cost centre coding (revenue and expenses) from business partner units.
• With support from Finance Operations Manager, assistance in processes regarding greenhouse gas accounting and wider Club sustainability initiatives and reporting.

Experience, Skills and Attributes

• Undergraduate Qualification in Accounting / Business related discipline.
• Currently completing or have completed a post graduate qualification in accounting e.g., CA or CPA.
• Exposure to and intuitive in the use of accounting systems and forecast platforms/analysis.
• Ability to read and interpret financial data and provide outputs for varying audiences.
• Demonstrated capability in Microsoft suite products, in particular excel.
• Exposure to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations system and Workday Adaptive (desirable, but not required).
• Exposure to Customer Relationship Management systems such as SportsRM or Salesforce (desirable).
• Ability to work autonomously and as part of a team, effectively managing competing priorities whilst being adaptive to changing demands.
• Strong problem solving, decision making and communication skills.
• Willingness to support and educate others.
• Energetic and eager to learn and develop.
• Ability to prioritise and meet deadlines.
• A strong alignment with Carlton Football Club values.

Benefits and Culture

Carlton’s values underpin how the Club operates, describing how our people work together, interact and behave. The Club is passionate about its culture, focused on cultivating a unique sense of belonging and connection. In addition, we offer our people flexible working, learning and development opportunities, as well as employee benefits such as membership, café and retail discounts, alongside working in a world-class sporting amenity.

The Carlton Football Club is an equal opportunity employer and a place who welcomes all. We encourage people with diverse experiences and backgrounds to apply. This includes, but is not limited to, those from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse, and LGBTQIA+ communities. We are committed to fostering a workplace environment which is inclusive, safe, and flexible. All applicants will be considered based on the relevance of their abilities to the role and their alignment with our Club Values.

The Carlton Football Club is committed to providing a welcoming environment where the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people involved in our programs, services, activities, events, and the broader community, will always be our first priority. All staff must hold (or be willing to obtain) a current Victorian Working With Children Check as part of their employment with the Club.

We have a fantastic opportunity for a Senior Financial Accountant to join our Finance Department on a full-time basis, located at Caulfield Racecourse.

We’re searching for an engaging Senior Financial Accountant who brings strong financial capabilities, communicates with confidence, thinks commercially and enjoys building genuine connections across the business. You will lead PLG’s financial reporting and core accounting processes while playing an influential role in budgeting, forecasting and financial analysis. Your expertise will deliver clear, timely insights that support informed decision-making and help shape PLG’s strategic direction.

About Us

Melbourne Racing Club (MRC) is an iconic sporting and entertainment organisation with a proud 150-year legacy. While we’re renowned for hosting elite horse racing at Caulfield, Sportsbet Sandown and Mornington Racecourses, we’re also so much more. From vibrant events and functions to our 17 Pegasus Leisure Group (PLG) hospitality venues across Victoria and community initiatives through the MRC Foundation, we’re dedicated to delivering exceptional experiences for our guests, members and community.

What will your responsibilities be?

• Manage the month-end reconciliation process in line with financial reporting deadlines and ensuring all GL balances are true and correct.
• Ensure venues and head office support teams are adhering to policies, procedures, and deadlines to support month-end processes.
• Review, improve and ensure adherence to all financial policies and procedures within the PLG business.
• Coordinate year-end finalisation of general ledger and liaise with audit for all PLG related requests.
• Review and improve system integrations to improve the efficiency of the reconciliation process.
• Actively promote a strong working relationship between the PLG finance team, finance support team and venue management.
• Lead the month-end closing process, ensuring completion of the P&L within a 5-day timeframe.
• Coordinate the completion of all quarterly PLG balance sheet rec packs for sign off within 10 days of month end. There must be no material, unexpected variances booked at year-end.
• Contribute to the development and delivery of financial policies, guidelines, and protocols to ensure the company complies with regulations and good financial practice.

Qualifications & Experience Essential

• Accounting Degree and CPA qualified
• Experience interpreting and applying key financial indicators to make better business decisions.
• 5+ years of experience in accounting or finance, with a solid understanding of general accounting principles and practices.
• Proven experience leading month-end processes, balance sheet reconciliations and general ledger management.
• Experience in budgeting processes, financial forecasting, and variance analysis.

Skills & Experience

• A continuous‑improvement mindset and willingness to build capability in areas such as Power BI, reporting automation and emerging finance technologies.
• Experience working in a hospitality, gaming or similar industry (desirable)
• Strong Accounting Systems knowledge
• Advanced Excel
• Takes a proactive approach, using initiative to identify opportunities, address issues early and drive practical improvements without waiting for direction
• Makes sense of complex, high quantity, and sometimes contradictory information to effectively solve problems.
• Plan and prioritise work to meet commitments aligned with organisational goals.
• Communicates financial information clearly and confidently, adapting their approach to suit different audiences across the business.
• Works with full competence to interpret and apply knowledge of laws, regulations and policies in area of expertise. Typically works without supervision and may provide technical guidance.
• Works with full competence to express ideas, request actions, formulate plans & policies by means of clear and effective verbal communications.

What’s in it for you?

• Brand new state‑of‑the‑art administration building with standing desks and breakout spaces.
• Access to our year‑round well‑being initiatives including our Employee Assistance Programme for staff and family.
• Ongoing learning & development opportunities.
• Free onsite parking.

Melbourne Racing Club values differences in gender, age, ethnicity, race, cultural background, disability, religion and sexual orientation and encourages all suitable applicants to apply for this role.