Event Accountant

MARI; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work environment

Pension match

Paid Parental Leave

Employee Assistance Programme

Wellbeing & finance apps access

Flexible Paid Time Off

Job summary

MARI Group is seeking an Event Accountant to join the Arts & Entertainment finance team in London, primarily supporting Hyde Park Winter Wonderland and the Hampton Court Palace Festival. You will own onsite accounting, reporting, cash reconciliation, and vendor settlements, while collaborating with Event Directors, Operations, and on-site teams.

The role requires ACA/ACCA/CIMA or equivalent, strong numeracy, and excellent IT and communication skills.

Qualifications

• Qualified accounting designation (ACA/ACCA/CIMA).
• Strong numeracy with ability to reconcile large data sets.
• Excellent attention to detail and process orientation.
• Excellent communication and organisational skills under pressure.

Responsibilities

• Act as the key finance contact for Winter Wonderland and the Hampton Court Palace Festival, partnering with Event Directors and Ops teams.
• Manage onsite accounting and reporting, cash reconciliation, and settlements with traders and vendors.
• Support month-end close, budgeting, and planning across both events.
• Produce reconciled statements and contribute to AR, invoicing, and supplier payments.
• Oversee bottom-up cash flow forecasting and scenario analysis, flag risks and opportunities.

Skills

Accounting proficiency

Strong numeracy

Attention to detail

Communication skills

Education

ACA ACCA or CIMA

Tools

Microsoft Office

SAP

Job description

About MARI Group:

MARI is a global events and experiences company with a portfolio of world-class live properties spanning sport, art, lifestyle, and entertainment. These include major international tennis tournaments, among them the Mutua Madrid Open and Miami Open presented by Itaú, Frieze, a leading voice in contemporary art, Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, TodayTix Group, a leading digital ticketing and technology company for theatre and live performance, and Barrett-Jackson, the foremost U.S. collector car auction company. MARI delivers live experiences that bring people together, inspire audiences, and shape culture worldwide.

About MARI Group:

MARI is a global events and experiences company with a portfolio of world-class live properties spanning sport, art, lifestyle, and entertainment. These include major international tennis tournaments, among them the Mutua Madrid Open and Miami Open presented by Itaú, Frieze, a leading voice in contemporary art, Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, TodayTix Group, a leading digital ticketing and technology company for theatre and live performance, and Barrett-Jackson, the foremost U.S. collector car auction company. MARI delivers live experiences that bring people together, inspire audiences, and shape culture worldwide. MARI is reshaping the live events landscape — building a growing portfolio of category-defining events and brands that set the standard for what's next, across sports, entertainment, art, and lifestyle. At MARI, you'll work alongside people who are passionate, curious, and driven — people who believe that live experiences have the power to shape culture, and who care about the work, the mission, and each other. We welcome outstanding applicants of all backgrounds and encourage everyone to apply.

About The Role:

MARI is seeking an Event Accountant to join the Arts & Entertainment finance team, providing hands-on financial management for two of MARI’s flagship events: Hyde Park Winter Wonderland and the Hampton Court Palace Festival. This role reports to the Senior Finance Manager, acting as the key onsite and business-partnering finance contact for each show.

You’ll work closely with the Event Directors, Operations teams and onsite financial operations teams, owning onsite accounting and reporting, cash reconciliation, and trader and vendor settlements, while supporting month-end close and business planning across both events. This is a hands-on, detail-driven role for someone who thrives on the pace, pressure and variety of working across major events year-round.

This role is for qualified candidates and will be based in London (180 The Strand office), with onsite time required at Hyde Park and Hampton Court Palace during event periods.

You will occasionally be required to work outside standard hours, including evenings and weekends, to support event build, show days and close-out.

What Success Looks Like:

• Trader and vendor settlement statements are accurate, fully reconciled, and issued on time, so traders are paid promptly at both Winter Wonderland and the Hampton Court Palace Festival.


• Cash reconciliation and banking run smoothly onsite, with event cash flow tracked and reported accurately throughout each show.


• Month-end P&L and balance sheet reporting reflect the true position of each event, with clear, timely commentary on variance to plan.


• Revenue planning and budgets are kept current and reconcilable, enabling accurate pre-and post-show flash reporting and a timely close-out of event finances.

What You Bring:

• Accounting qualification (ACA, ACCA or CIMA).


• Strong accounting knowledge and a highly numerate, process‑orientated approach, with the ability to manage and reconcile large, complex data sets.


• Excellent IT skills, especially Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint); experience with SAP is a plus.


• Excellent communication, planning and organisational skills, able to manage multiple and sometimes conflicting deadlines under pressure.


• Strong attention to detail and a flexible, proactive team player who adapts well to fluctuating business demand.


• Event industry experience is desirable, along with a genuine interest in live events, sport, art and entertainment.

What You’ll Own:

• Act as the key finance contact for Winter Wonderland and the Hampton Court PalaceFestival, business partnering with the Event Directors and Ops teams throughout the event cycle.


• Manage onsite accounting and reporting, building and maintaining the cash reconciliation process for event cash flow into the bank, and controlling and reconciling reporting from the onsite team.


• Produce reconciled settlement statements that tie back to onsite reporting, and support AR, invoicing, debt collection, AP processing and supplier payments.


• Own bottom-up business planning, cash flow forecasting and scenario analysis, flagging risks and opportunities and ensuring applicable taxes are accounted for correctly.


• Keep revenue planning and ops budgets up to date and reconcilable to support accurate pre- and post-show flash reporting, timely event close-out, and month-end P&L/balance sheet reporting with variance commentary.


• Work onsite during events to support ticket reporting, box office takings, cash reconciliation and banking, and sales reporting.

Job Benefits

Here are some of the Benefits and Perks offered at MARI Group:

• Hybrid work environment (blend of in-office and at-home days)


• Pension match and access to a bespoke pension scheme


• Paid Parental Leave


• Employee Assistance Programme


• Enhanced gyms, wellness and financial wellbeing apps access via Wellhub


• Flexible Paid Time Off

MARI believes in the power of live experiences to unite people - and we know that can only be achieved when we reflect the full diversity of the world around us. As a global company that shapes culture across sports, art, and entertainment, we are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace and to practicing anti-discrimination across race, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, and beyond. We recognise that systemic inequality and discrimination remain challenges across the events and entertainment industry, and we are dedicated to driving meaningful progress — both within our own organisation and across the wider industry we are proud to be part of.