Group Development Accountant

Grafton Banks Finance Ltd; England; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A financial services group in the UK is seeking a Group Development Accountant to lead transformation activities within the finance team. The role requires strong expertise in month-end close, reporting, and compliance processes, combined with a track record of successfully participating in finance system improvements. The ideal candidate will hold a relevant professional qualification and have at least 5 years of post-qualification experience. High proficiency in Excel and experience with ERP systems like Sage X3 are essential for streamlining financial processes.

Qualifications

• 5 years post qualification experience required.
• Strong understanding of reporting, compliance, and forecasting processes.
• Working knowledge of VAT and statutory reporting.

Responsibilities

• Lead finance transformation activities within the region.
• Translate the Project Basecamp roadmap into actionable plans.
• Support regional data cleansing and mapping.

Skills

Qualified (ACCA / CIMA / equivalent)

Strong understanding of month‑end close

Experience in system or process improvement projects

High proficiency in Excel

Excellent organisational skills

Strong interpersonal and communication skills

Education

Qualified accountant (ACCA / CIMA / equivalent)

Tools

Sage X3

BI / reporting tools

Job description

The Role :

The Group Development Accountant will act as the delivery lead for finance transformation activities within the region, supporting the Group Finance Accounting Controller to modernise and standardise financial processes across month‑end close, audit readiness, compliance, reporting, and forecasting.

The role bridges operational finance and project execution, ensuring that group priorities are delivered in alignment with the global transformation roadmap. It combines process improvement, data integrity, system enhancement, and change adoption into a single hands‑on role.

Main Duties and Responsibilities :

• 1. Transformation Delivery Translate the Project Basecamp roadmap into an actionable delivery plan for the group, covering operational inputs, compliance, processes, controls and reporting.
• Coordinate regional inputs for process design, testing, and adoption of new systems and tools.
• Map “as‑is” regional finance processes and lead workshops to design “to‑be” workflows that enhance accuracy, control, and speed.
• Identify opportunities to automate manual activities or streamline hand‑offs between teams.
• Consolidation of monthly processes to streamline monthly reporting focusing initially on fixed assets, cost of sales analysis, bank reconciliations and passthrough.
• Support pilot implementations and post‑go‑live issue resolution.
• 2. Change & Communication, Act as change champion for the group, embedding new ways of working and driving engagement within finance teams.
• Prepare and deliver local training sessions, how‑to guides, and comms updates in partnership with the Change & Adoption Lead.
• Establishment of an accounting manual to ensure consistent reporting throughout the group.
• Gather feedback from regional users to inform continuous improvement and lessons learned.
• 3. Data, Controls & Reporting Support regional data cleansing and mapping between legacy and target systems.
• Ensure master data, reporting hierarchies, and control frameworks remain aligned to group standards.
• Monitor progress against transformation KPIs (e.g. close days, reconciliation quality, audit findings) and report status into the Finance Transformation Controller.
• 4. Governance & Stakeholder Engagement Provide transparent status reporting to the Finance Transformation Controller and Group Finance Accounting Controller on milestones, risks, and dependencies.
• Engage with auditors, tax advisers, and cross‑functional teams to ensure compliance considerations are embedded in design.
• Represent the regional finance perspective in global design or testing sessions.

Experience : Skills / Abilities & Knowledge

• Qualified (ACCA / CIMA / equivalent) with 5 years post qualification experience
• Strong understanding of month‑end close, reporting, compliance, and forecasting processes.
• Experience participating in system or process improvement projects within finance.
• High proficiency in Excel, ERP systems (Sage X3 or similar), and BI / reporting tools.
• Excellent organisational skills and ability to manage concurrent priorities.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills — able to engage stakeholders across regions and functions.
• Working knowledge of VAT, statutory reporting, and regional compliance requirements.