Group Corporate Accountant

Michael Page (UK); Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 79,000; Full time

Job summary

An established industry player is seeking a Group Corporate Accountant to oversee financial reporting and budgeting within their dynamic multi-site leisure business. This role offers an exciting opportunity to collaborate with senior stakeholders and drive process improvements in a fast-paced environment. You'll manage month-end close processes, provide insightful analysis, and lead budgeting efforts, all while ensuring compliance with corporate policies. With a competitive salary and a hybrid working model, this position is perfect for a finance professional looking to make a significant impact in a growing organization.

Benefits

Private Medical Insurance

23 days holiday + 8 bank holidays

Pension

Hybrid working model

Qualifications

• Experience in managing end-to-end month-end processes accurately.
• Strong business partnering skills to communicate complex financial information.

Responsibilities

• Oversee financial reporting, budgeting, and forecasting for the corporate head office.
• Collaborate with group executives to provide insights for decision-making.

Skills

Financial Reporting

Budgeting

Forecasting

Business Partnering

Process Improvement

IFRS Loan Accounting

Education

Fully qualified ACA

Fully qualified ACCA

Fully qualified CIMA

Tools

Financial Systems

Banking Systems

Job description

Great progression opportunities

Marketing Leading International PE backed business

About Our Client

International P.E. backed multi-site leisure business, based in White City, West London. Group Corporate Accountant role.

Job Description

As the Group Corporate Accountant based in White City, West London, you will be responsible for:

• The corporate accountant plays a key role in overseeing the financial reporting, budgeting, and forecasting for our corporate head office. This includes managing month-end close, finance costs, cash flow forecasting, and business partnering, providing detailed insights to senior stakeholders.
• Reporting to the group financial controller, you will collaborate closely with various functions to ensure alignment and accuracy across functions while driving process improvements.

Key Accountabilities

Monthly Reporting

• Take full ownership of the corporate month-end close process, including the preparation and posting of all actuals from bank transactions through to accruals, finance costs, and other P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow items.
• Ensure the entire process is completed with accuracy and in alignment with group timelines.
• Prepare and submit standard financial control and FP&A packs promptly after month-end close, including key insights and variance analysis.
• Collaborate with group executives to provide comprehensive business partnering insights that inform decision-making and enhance financial understanding across the group.
• Ensure compliance with all relevant corporate policies and controls during the month-end close process.
• Provide analysis on non-recurring items for the corporate function, ensuring adherence to group accounting policies and identifying potential issues or areas for improvement.
• Manage the accounting for corporate finance costs, including the group's external borrowings, ensuring accuracy and timely posting.
• Lead the short-term cash flow forecasting process for the corporate head office, providing insightful commentary on cash flow movements and trends, supporting senior management in understanding and managing liquidity.

Budgeting and Forecasting

• Lead the preparation of the corporate head office budget and reforecasts, ensuring alignment across all relevant P&L lines and collaborating with key group stakeholders to incorporate finance costs, operating expenses, and other corporate head office items.
• Provide valuable insights and analysis during the budgeting and reforecasting processes, working closely with other functions to ensure that corporate financial plans are robust and accurate.
• Manage the upload of forecasts into the financial systems, ensuring accuracy and integrity across all corporate functions.

Banking and Cash Management

• Oversee the preparation and approval of corporate bank payments, ensuring compliance with relevant authorizations and company policies.
• Manage the ongoing maintenance of the corporate banking system, ensuring that all necessary banking and administrative tasks are completed in a timely manner.
• Ensure month-end bank reconciliations are completed promptly and accurately, with all discrepancies identified and resolved in a timely manner.

Ad-hoc financial support and insights

• Collaborate with other group functions to provide greater financial insights, particularly around strategic projects, cost-saving initiatives, and business performance.
• Support ad-hoc reporting and analysis for senior management, including preparing detailed reports on specific business areas as required.
• Drive process improvements within the corporate finance function, focusing on automation and streamlining manual processes to increase efficiency and reduce the risk of errors.
• Support the group financial control team in providing working capital insights across the group.

The Successful Applicant

• Fully qualified ACA, ACCA, or CIMA.
• Experience within a multi-site organization, preferably within the retail, leisure, or hospitality sector (not essential but preferred).
• Proven experience managing banking systems/payments and IFRS loan accounting (desirable).
• Proven experience managing end-to-end month-end processes with accuracy and adherence to timelines.
• Ability to provide insightful commentary and analysis for senior stakeholders, identifying trends, variances, and performance drivers.
• Experience leading budgeting and reforecast processes, collaborating with stakeholders, and ensuring data integrity in financial systems.
• Strong business partnering skills to communicate complex financial information effectively and support decision-making.
• Proven ability to drive automation, streamline manual processes, and reduce operational errors.
• Experience in delivering ad-hoc analysis, strategic insights, and supporting initiatives like cost-saving projects.

What's on Offer

• Salary £70,000 - £79,000 depending on experience.
• Bonus 9%.
• Private Medical Insurance.
• 23 days holiday + 8 days bank holiday, holiday rises with service.
• Pension.
• 37.5-hour week.
• Hybrid working, four days in the office and 1 day working from home (Friday).