ESG Reporting Accountant (Fixed Term)

M&G; City of Edinburgh; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

8% pension

Life Assurance

Flexible culture

Health & wellbeing

30 days holiday

Parental leave benefits

Job summary

M&G is seeking an ESG Reporting Accountant for a six-month period to join the Group Sustainability team in Edinburgh. The role will lead the delivery of subsidiary sustainability reporting under TCFD, SDR and SFDR, including the external audit relationship and ensuring compliant disclosures.

Responsibilities include planning, governance paper drafting, controls management, and liaising with internal stakeholders to implement new sustainability regulations and reporting changes.

Qualifications

• Qualified Accountant with some experience or knowledge of sustainability reporting.
• Good understanding of controls and risk management.
• Experience in producing and delivering disclosures in financial services or auditing such disclosures.
• Strong analytical skills on financial and sustainability metrics.
• Experience of working with external auditors or knowledge of key audit concepts.
• Ability to communicate and influence senior stakeholders clearly and effectively.

Responsibilities

• Lead end-to-end production of ESG disclosures and reports.
• Coordinate responses to auditor queries on ESG disclosures.
• Manage the team’s key controls and risk management returns.
• Maintain and enhance internal controls within the reporting process.
• Draft governance papers and present to boards/committees.
• Support governance planning and involvement in new sustainability regulations.

Skills

ESG reporting

Regulatory reporting

Audit coordination

Stakeholder communication

Analytical skills

Education

Qualified Accountant

Tools

Financial reporting systems

Job description

• We are looking for an ESG Reporting Accountant to join the Group Sustainability team for a 6 month period. It’s an exciting time to be involved in this fast-moving space, with companies coming under growing pressure to disclose more information on their sustainability efforts, and with regulations and disclosure frameworks evolving to allow for reporting in more standardised and comprehensive formats
• The ESG Reporting Accountant is responsible for leading on the delivery of the Group’s subsidiary sustainability reporting under TCFD, SDR and SFDR and plays a vital role in the delivery of the Group Sustainability Report in the Annual Report and Accounts. The role includes the end to end production of reports including managing the external audit relationship and ensuring complete, accurate and compliant reporting of external disclosures
• The role will incorporate a broad range of responsibilities including: supporting on the sustainability reporting change agenda; peer analysis; presentation of papers at governance forums; managing key controls and associated risks; and content drafting through collaboration with internal stakeholders
• Working collaboratively with various subject matter experts to design ESG disclosures for inclusion in external reporting documents including the Group’s Annual Report and Accounts
• End to end production of entity reports including planning, managing change, understanding peers, metrics analysis, content drafting and content verification
• Coordinating responses to auditor queries in relation to ESG disclosures
• Responsibility for the team’s Key Controls and risk management returns
• Taking personal accountability for maintaining and enhancing controls you are responsible for to support improvement of the overall control environment
• Keeping abreast of developments in the ESG disclosure space (peers and regulations) to ensure all disclosures are in line with latest requirements of various regulatory bodies and emerging best practice
• Supporting the team planning including management of governance processes
• Writing governance papers for submission to boards and committees
• Supporting the project team where necessary in tasks associated with the implementation of new sustainability regulations

Benefits

• 8% non-contributory pension plus up to 5% matching
• Life Assurance & Death in Service
• Support, feedback and development programmes to help you reach your full potential
• Flexible culture and ways of working
• Focus on health & wellbeing
• 30 days holiday as standard (excluding bank holidays), with the ability to purchase an additional 5 days
• Time off when you need it includes carer’s leave, faith leave, grandparent leave and career breaks
• New parents receive up to 26 weeks of full pay while on leave
• 4-week back-to-work transition for new parents: work 80% of your contractual hours, be paid for 100%
• New parents can take family leave in flexible blocks within the first year of birth/adaoption

Some understanding of key reporting regulations including TCFD, SDR and SFDRQualified Accountant with some experience or knowledge of sustainability reportingAn understanding of controlsExperienced in production and delivery of disclosures in a financial services organisation, or experience of auditing such disclosuresGood analytical skills in relation to financial metrics or sustainability metricsExperience of working with external auditors or knowledge of key audit conceptsAble to apply logic and problem solving to complex accounting problemsAbility to communicate effectively and influence effectively with productive, successful relationships with demanding senior stakeholdersAbility to assess, react quickly and decisively to problems, taking tough decisions where needed or escalating issues as appropriateAbility to understand complex dataAbility to make decisions while managing ambiguityProactive self-starter who takes ownership, and has a strong track record of driving delivery of resultsAble to align actions with vision and purposeSound understanding of sustainability reporting regulations including but not limited to ISSB/UK SRS, SFDR, SDR, TCFD, GHGP and PCAF including accounting for GHG emissions across the value chainGood networks / links with external bodies and individuals in the same fieldSome knowledge of industry trends, best practice and developments in sustainability and sustainability reportingExperience of system implementation in an accounting or sustainability contextAn understanding of greenwashing