Senior Financial Accountant

Sewell Wallis Ltd; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A charity near Wakefield is seeking a Senior Financial Accountant to lead financial operations and support strategic initiatives. The role involves financial reporting, forecasting, and ensuring strong governance. Ideal candidates will be fully qualified accountants with a strong technical background and excellent communication skills.

Benefits

Competitive benefits package

Free on-site parking

Ongoing professional development

Qualifications

• Fully qualified Accountant with ACA/ACCA/CIMA.
• Experience in budgeting, forecasting, and stakeholder engagement.
• Knowledge of charity finance and regulatory frameworks is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Prepare statutory financial accounts and lead balance sheet reconciliations.
• Produce cash flow forecasts and deliver variance analysis.
• Manage month-end and year-end processes, including audit preparation.

Skills

Financial Reporting

Budgeting

Forecasting

Stakeholder Engagement

Communication

Data Analysis

Education

ACA

ACCA

CIMA

Tools

Excel

Power BI

Job description

Sewell Wallis is partnering with a charity based near Wakefield, West Yorkshire, seeking to recruit a Senior Financial Accountant.

This pivotal role offers the opportunity to lead financial operations, support strategic initiatives, and ensure strong financial governance across both UK and international functions.

As the Senior Financial Accountant, you will play a key part in supporting the Director of Finance and partnering with the Senior Leadership Team to deliver high-quality financial reporting, forecasting, and strategic insight. The role requires a hands-on accountant with a strong technical background and the ability to drive improvements in processes and systems.

What will you be doing?

• Prepare statutory financial accounts and lead on balance sheet reconciliations.
• Produce detailed cash flow forecasts, highlighting risks and opportunities.
• Deliver variance analysis and insightful narrative reporting for department heads.
• Manage and improve month-end and year-end processes, including audit preparation.
• Strengthen financial controls and assist in risk management.
• Lead and support continuous improvement projects across finance.
• Develop financial models and dashboards to aid decision-making (Excel essential, Power BI desirable).
• Produce timely, accurate financial reports for the SLT and Board of Trustees.
• Lead the implementation and onboarding of new accounting/ERP systems.
• Assist with tax reporting and ensure ongoing compliance.
• Provide support and mentorship to the wider finance team.

What skills are we looking for?

• Fully qualified Accountant (ACA / ACCA / CIMA).
• Strong background in financial accounts and statutory reporting.
• Proven experience in budgeting, forecasting, and stakeholder engagement.
• Advanced Excel skills with the ability to handle and analyse complex data sets.
• Power BI experience is an advantage.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to work with key stakeholders across the business.
• Knowledge of charity finance, SORP, and regulatory frameworks is highly desirable.
• Self-motivated, ambitious, and able to thrive in a fast-paced environment.

What's on offer?

• Competitive benefits package.
• Free on-site parking.
• Ongoing professional development and training opportunities.

For further details, please contact Emma Dugdale.

To apply, please send your CV, quoting our reference and specifying which website you saw this position advertised on. Due to the high volume of applications, please accept that if we have not responded within seven days, your application has not been successful.

Sewell Wallis is a specialist recruitment company with extensive experience in our industry. We offer permanent, temporary, and interim recruitment support for accounting and finance, human resources, and business support positions. We recruit at all levels within finance, from Purchase Ledger Administrator and Credit Controller to Financial Controller and Director roles. With offices in Sheffield and Leeds, we are well positioned to cover South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, and Manchester. Please visit our website for more information on accountancy, finance jobs, human resources, and business support positions.