Group Finance Manager

Stanton House; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Stanton House is partnering with a PE-backed specialist consultancy to appoint a Group Finance Manager / Project Accountant in London, with 2 days per week in office.

The role combines project accounting, financial control, systems integration and M&A support, reporting to the Group CFO, with exposure to acquisitions and finance transformation.

You will work with operational teams across multiple units, build scalable finance processes, and drive automation and AI-enabled improvements.

Qualifications

• This role requires formal accounting qualification (ACA/ACCA/CIMA) or equivalent.
• 3+ years post-qualified experience in project accounting or related roles.
• Experience with budgeting, forecasting, and audits.
• Strong knowledge of project revenue recognition and WIP.
• Experience implementing or transforming finance systems.

Responsibilities

• Act as Project Accountant across multiple business units with strong visibility.
• Own project accounting and financial reporting, ensuring timely delivery.
• Manage WIP, accrued income, deferred income and billing cycles.
• Support budgeting, forecasting, cash flow planning and project margins.
• Assist with month-end close, journals, and reconciliations.
• Support audits and respond to external auditor requests.
• Contribute to system implementations and integrations.
• Monitor integration costs and report against budgets and synergies.
• Identify risks and drive process improvements with automation.

Skills

Project accounting

Finance business partnering

Stakeholder management

Analytical thinking

Organised multi-project delivery

Travel willingness

Education

Qualified accountant (ACA/ACCA/CIMA) or equivalent

Tools

ERP systems

AI-enabled tooling (Copilot)

Job description

Job Title: Group Finance Manager / Project Accountant

Industry: Building Services & Sustainability Consultancy (PE-backed)

Contract Type: Permanent

Location: London (2 days per week in office)

Job Reference Number; 32829

Company

Stanton House is partnering with a private equity-backed specialist consultancy group operating within the sustainable buildings, engineering and professional services sector to appoint a Group Finance Manager / Project Accountant. The business generates approximately £20m of annual revenue and is experiencing significant growth through a combination of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions.

The organisation supports clients across the full building lifecycle, providing expertise in engineering, sustainability, building performance and smart building solutions. With continued investment and further acquisitions planned, this is an exciting opportunity to join a growing platform where finance plays a key role in supporting integration, transformation and commercial decision-making.

Role

This is a highly visible position reporting directly to the Group CFO, combining project accounting, financial control, systems integration, M&A support and business partnering responsibilities.

The successful candidate will work closely with operational teams, project leaders and senior management across multiple businesses, helping to build scalable finance processes and support the integration of newly acquired entities. The role offers significant exposure to acquisition activity, finance transformation and business growth within a dynamic PE-backed environment.

Responsibilities

• Act as Project Accountant across multiple business units, maintaining strong visibility across finance and operational teams.
• Own project accounting and financial reporting activities, ensuring timely and accurate delivery in line with reporting deadlines.
• Manage project revenue recognition, including WIP, accrued income, deferred income and over/under billing.
• Drive the WIP-to-invoice cycle, including valuations, applications for payment and timely billing activities.
• Support budgeting, forecasting and cash flow planning, including project-level margin and cost forecasting.
• Partner with operational teams throughout systems implementations, integrations and transformation programmes.
• Support month-end close processes, including journals, reconciliations, project accounting and management reporting.
• Assist with year-end and interim audits, preparing project accounting schedules and responding to auditor requirements.
• Support finance workstreams during acquisitions, including system implementation, process integration and controls alignment.
• Monitor M&A integration costs and support reporting against investment cases, budgets and synergy targets.
• Build strong relationships across the group and act as a key contact for project accounting and systems-related matters.
• Identify project risks, cost overruns and control weaknesses, escalating issues and recommending improvements where required.
• Drive finance process improvements through automation, technology and AI-enabled solutions.

Requirements

• Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent).
• 3+ years' post-qualified finance experience.
• Strong experience within Project Accounting, Project Controls or Finance Business Partnering.
• Strong understanding of project-based revenue recognition including WIP, accrued income and over/under billing.
• Experience supporting budgeting, forecasting and cash flow reporting processes.
• Experience supporting statutory audits and working directly with external auditors.
• Strong month-end accounting knowledge including journals, accruals, reconciliations and management reporting.
• Experience supporting finance systems implementations, integrations or transformation projects.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills with the ability to influence at all levels.
• Commercially minded with strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
• Highly organised with the ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines simultaneously.
• Willingness to travel across business locations as required.
• Experience within engineering, building services, construction, manufacturing or other project-based environments.
• Exposure to acquisition-led, private equity-backed or multi-entity organisations.
• ERP implementation, finance systems migration or transformation experience.
• Experience using AI-enabled tools, Microsoft Copilot or finance process automation technologies.
• Previous exposure to scaling finance functions within a growing organisation.