Financial Accountant

Automata; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 68,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Vitality Health Insurance

Eye Care

Pension Scheme

Group Life & Critical Illness cover

Wellbeing & Development Allowance

Job summary

Automata is hiring a newly qualified accountant to own financial reporting infrastructure across a scaling, multi‑entity business in London. You’ll lead revenue and margin reporting, implement new tools, and manage month‑end close, AR, and audits while partnering with the Director of Financial Control and wider finance team.

You’ll bring 0–4 years PQE, IFRS/UK GAAP knowledge, and a practical view on AI in finance.

Qualifications

• Qualified accountant (CIMA, ACA, or ACCA) with 0-4 years PQE. Final stage of qualification considered.
• Demonstrable experience in a scaling or fast-paced environment, with the ability to step confidently into BAU from day one.
• Strong grasp of IFRS, UK GAAP, and milestone/stage-of-completion contract reporting.
• A clear, established approach to controls. You know what a good controls environment looks like and you can build one.
• A genuine, specific, and defensible point of view on where AI fits in a modern finance function.

Responsibilities

• Own revenue and margin reporting and design new internal reporting tools.
• Build a commissions reporting tool to automate policy access.
• Own month-end close end to end and consolidate group reporting.
• Manage accounts receivable across a multi-entity client base and improve invoicing.
• Support actuals vs. budget and assist with revenue recognition development.
• Take ownership of the year-end audit process and respond to auditor queries.
• Lead R&D tax claim compilation and submission.

Skills

IFRS/UK GAAP

Controls framework

AI in FP&A

Multi-entity reporting

Stakeholder comms

Education

CIMA/ACCA/ACA

Final stage of qualification

Tools

Python

AI tooling

Excel advanced

Job description

Level:5 Location: London (Angel) – Hybrid – office: 3 days

At Automata, we're on a mission to transform how scientists work by making automation accessible to every lab in the world. We believe that by giving labs the power to automate, we can unlock discoveries that will shape the future of life sciences—from diagnostics and drug discovery to synthetic biology.

But we’re more than just a company disrupting the industry—we're a team of innovators, problem-solvers, and creators passionate about empowering scientists. Our LINQ platform combines hardware and software to streamline workflows, making lab automation fast, flexible, and affordable. This means our customers can focus on groundbreaking research, while we take care of the rest.

Why Work at Automata?

• Impact: Your work will directly contribute to advancements in science and medicine, supporting labs around the globe as they push boundaries in research and innovation.

• Innovation: You’ll be part of a team solving complex problems (seriously, no one else has figured out how to do this yet), using cutting‑edge technology (we have robots).

• Growth: We invest in our people. Whether through hands‑on experience, professional development, or collaborative projects, you’ll grow both professionally and personally.

• Community: Join a diverse, passionate team that values collaboration (golf on a Thursday, Soccer once a month, movie nights whenever we fancy it).

This is not a role for someone who waits for the month-end checklist to land in their inbox.

We are looking for a newly qualified accountant (approximately 1-4 years PQE), who has a genuine, considered point of view on how finance should operate in a technology company, and the initiative to go and build it. You will own the financial reporting infrastructure for a scaling, multi‑entity business: revenue and margin reporting, month‑end close, accounts receivable, audit, tax, and a set of tooling projects that need someone who can think and do.

You will work closely with the Director of Financial Control and wider finance team, and you will be expected to speak up, challenge assumptions, and bring ideas. Not just execute tasks.

If your instinct in ambiguous situations is to wait for someone to tell you what to do, this is not the right fit.

What You Will Own

Revenue and Margin Reporting

Produce accurate revenue and cost of sales figures for gross margin reporting used across the business. Lead the design and implementation of new internal revenue reporting tools, building robust processes that comply with applicable accounting standards and internal policy.

Commissions Infrastructure

Build a new commissions reporting tool to automate access to our commissions policy and reduce manual processing overhead.

Month-End Close and Management Accounts

Own month-end close end to end, producing management accounts to a high standard, including group consolidation and lender/investor reporting. You will drive continuous improvement in close timelines rather than accepting the status quo.

Accounts Receivable

Manage AR end to end across a geographically diverse client base. Build and maintain a scalable invoicing system for bespoke billing requirements, and feed accurate inflow forecasts into monthly and weekly cash flow reporting.

FP&A Support

Support actuals vs. budget reporting, contribute to revenue recognition process development, and provide analytical support as the finance function scales.

Year-End Audit

Take full ownership of the audit process: posting journals, responding to auditor queries, and acting as the primary point of contact throughout.

Tax and R&D

Review group tax requirements, support future tax planning, and lead R&D tax claim compilation and submission.

What You Bring

• Qualified accountant (CIMA, ACA, or ACCA) with 0-4 years PQE. Final stage of qualification considered.

• Demonstrable experience in a scaling or fast‑paced environment, with the ability to step confidently into BAU from day one.

• Strong grasp of IFRS, UK GAAP, and milestone/stage‑of‑completion contract reporting.

• A clear, established approach to controls. You know what a good controls environment looks like and you can build one.

• A genuine, specific, and defensible point of view on where AI fits in a modern finance function. We will ask you about this in screening.

What Makes You Stand Out

• You have hands‑on experience using AI tooling to do real finance work. This might mean building Python scripts with AI assistance to automate reconciliations or variance analysis, using LLMs to query and interrogate data sets, working with AI‑native FP&A platforms such as Mosaic, Pigment, or Runway, or shipping internal reporting tools without needing an engineer to do it for you. Whatever the tool, you can articulate the reasoning behind it.

• You have improved something material and you can point to it. A close timeline, a process, a reporting format. Something that was slower or worse before you got to it.

• You have experience managing multi‑entity group structures and building processes around new entities.

• You produce concise, clear reporting for senior stakeholders. You know what to include and, equally, what to leave out.

• You build strong working relationships across functions, not just within finance, because you understand that good reporting depends on good data from the people generating it.

INTERVIEW SCHEDULE

Please check that you can be available

• April 30th & May 1st - Screening Calls

• May 5th & 6th - In‑person interview - technical task (Excel‑based)

• W/C 11th May - Decisions/offer made

UK Team Benefits:

Vitality Health Insurance

Eye Care

Salary Sacrifice - EV

Salary Sacrifice - Bike & Tech

Wellbeing & Support

Wellbeing & Development Allowance

Spill & Employee Assistance Programme

Additional Leave

Pension Scheme

Group Life & Critical Illness cover

We are an equal‑opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Discrimination of any kind based on race, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, genetic information, disability, or veteran status is strictly prohibited.