Finance Systems Accountant - Projects

JAM Recruitment Ltd; Reading; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

Medical assessments

Well-being benefits

Cycle to Work

Job summary

Thames Water in Reading is recruiting a Finance Systems Accountant - Projects to ensure our financial platforms meet budgeting, forecasting and reporting needs. This hybrid role combines on-site work at Clearwater Court with home-based days and focuses on delivering upgrades, patches and enhancements including SAP S/4Hana migration from ECC.

You will partner with finance and IT teams, drive process improvements, maintain master data and month-end closures, and uphold strong financial controls

Qualifications

• Experience with SAP FICO, either as a user or implementation
• Strong Excel skills
• SAP modules such as Project Systems and S/4Hana preferred
• Excellent stakeholder management and relationship building
• Ideally a fully qualified accountant, but part-qualified with finance experience considered
• First-class interpersonal skills with confident communication

Responsibilities

• Projects - problem solving systems issues affecting reporting, budgeting or forecasting and leading delivery of solutions
• Continual review of processes to identify and implement improvements with IT
• Maintain financial controls in SAP and related processes
• Enhance financial controls and documentation
• Identify, manage and mitigate finance system risks and issues
• Maintain SAP Enterprise structure, Chart of Accounts and cost/profit center hierarchies
• Support system month-end close for SAP ECC & ISU and ensure resilience

Skills

SAP FICO

Excel

Stakeholder management

Interpersonal skills

SAP Project Systems

S/4Hana knowledge

Education

Fully qualified accountant

Part-qualified accountant

Tools

SAP ECC

Job description

Based in Reading, the Finance Systems Accountant - Projects ensures financial platforms support budgeting, forecasting and reporting needs. This full-time post, offering £65,000 to £75,000 dependent on experience, suits a systems specialist who can partner with colleagues to deliver upgrades, patches and enhancements. Working under a hybrid arrangement from Clearwater Court, the postholder identifies and implements improvements, including a planned SAP migration from ECC to S/4Hana. Strong technical knowledge, analytical thinking and stakeholder communication are essential. The position carries significant responsibility and variety, allowing the successful candidate to shape how the organisation operates. The Finance Systems Accountant-Projects is responsible for ensuring our financial systems continue to meet business requirements to perform budgeting, forecasting and reporting. The role is a financial systems subject matter expert who will partner with the business to deliver a variety of system upgrades, patches, and improvements. This is a demanding but extremely varied opportunity, that will give you the opportunity to make a real impact on the way we operate as a business. There are a number of system enhancements live and in the pipeline which this role will be heavily involved in both identifying and delivering including longer term our planned SAP upgrade from ECC to S/4Hana. This is a full-time role under a hybrid working arrangement, between being based at Clearwater Court, Reading and working from home, according to the needs of the business. The role reports to the Finance Systems Manager.

What you will be doing as Finance Systems Accountant - Projects

• Projects - Problem solving systems issues which arise to our reporting, budgeting or forecasting systems and leading delivery of solutions
• Continual review of process improvements to identify, recommend and implement improvements (alongside our IT team and IT suppliers), solutions to automate and enhance our systems and processes
• Financial Controls - Adhering to financial controls when delivering financial system processes
• Enhancing our financial controls and related documentation
• Ensuring finance system risks and issues are identified, managed & mitigation plans are in place and communicated
• Master Data and Month End Closure - Maintenance of the SAP Enterprise structure including Chart of Account, Cost / Profit Centre Hierarchy, Financial Statement structure and Assessment Cycles
• Maintenance of Approval (SOP) tables aligning with group delegation of authority (SODA ) and smooth running of approval process
• Assisting with the system month end close for SAP ECC & ISU ensuring resilience across the Finance System team

What you should bring to the role

• You should have experience of SAP FICO, either as a competent user or ideally at an implementation level of expertise
• Strong Excel skills to at least Intermediate level.
• SAP modules such Project Systems and experience with S/4Hana preferred but not essential
• Excellent stakeholder management and relationship building skills
• Ideally a fully qualified accountant, but would consider a part-qualified accountant with hands on experience in a finance role, preferably in a management accountant capacity
• First class interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate confidently.

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive salary of £65,000 - £75,000 per annum, depending on experience
• Annual Leave - 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service. (Plus bank holidays)
• Performance-related pay is directly linked to company performance measures and targets
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON
• Personal Medical Assessments – Open to all once a year
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of your and your family’s health and well-being, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance
• Find out more about our benefits and perks (Please note different T&Cs apply if on secondment)

Who are we? We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job, and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come. Learn more about our purpose and values. Working at Thames Water Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy meaningful career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits. If you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region, and our planet. Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more. We’re committed to being a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and want to ensure you feel supported throughout the recruitment process. If you need any adjustments, whether that’s extra time, accessible formats, or anything else, just let us know. We’re here to help and support.