Group FP&A Accountant

First Central Insurance & Technology Group; Haywards Heath; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading insurance company in Haywards Heath seeks a Group Financial Planning and Analysis Accountant. This role involves providing strategic financial insights to support major decisions and enhance planning and reporting processes. Successful candidates will have strong analytical skills and advanced expertise in Excel, with a background in finance and accounting. Flexible work arrangements are available, promoting collaboration and creativity.

Benefits

Energetic and supportive work environment

Flexibility in work arrangements

Opportunity to make a real impact

Qualifications

• Degree educated and a qualified accountant (ACA, CIMA, ACCA) or equivalent experience.
• Insurance or reinsurance sector experience is preferable.
• Strong communicator who simplifies complex information.

Responsibilities

• Support the creation of the annual 5 Year Financial plan and budget.
• Prepare monthly management accounts and reports for the Group.
• Support financial insight to aid business decisions.

Skills

Data Confidence & Visual Storytelling

Stakeholder Relationship Building

Planning, Forecasting & Reporting Skills

Financial Expertise & Industry Insight

Education

Degree and relevant accounting qualification (ACA, CIMA, ACCA)

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

Recruiter First Central Insurance & Technology Group

We're 1st Central, a market-leading insurance company utilising smart data and technology at pace. Rapid growth has been based on giving our 1.4 million customers exactly what they want: great value insurance with an excellent service. And that's the same for our colleagues too; we won Insurance Employer of the Year at the British Insurance Awards 2024 and our Glassdoor score is pretty mega too!

Are you ready to make a real impact behind the numbers - become our next Group FP&A Accountant at 1st Central.

Are you a commercially savvy finance whizz with a knack for turning data into decisions? Love getting stuck into planning, budgeting, reporting and forecasting? We're on the lookout for a Group Financial Planning and Analysis Accountant who can bring the numbers to life, support major business decisions and add real value across the Group.

You'll bring strong commercial acumen and strategic thinking, with the ability to see the bigger picture and connect business strategy to financial insight in a clear and meaningful way. With a passion for financial modelling and analysis, you'll enjoy diving into the detail, uncovering trends, and translating data into valuable insight that supports confident, well-informed decision-making. This isn't just about crunching numbers - it's about telling the story behind them. You'll be part of the engine room that powers our strategic decisions and helps shape the financial future of our business.

We're big on flexibility. Our Finance team are mainly based at Haywards Heath, West Sussex, but we work from home most of the time. We think collaboration is pretty great though, so we like to get together about 1 day per week - just to keep those creative sparks flying. Prefer being in the office more often? That works for us too. We're even open to remote working - all we ask is that you join us in person about once a month to stay connected and keep those face-to-face vibes alive.

Skills you'll need to be a great fit for the role:

• Data Confidence & Visual Storytelling - you'll bring strong numeracy skills and advanced Excel and PowerPoint know-how to turn complex data into clear, compelling insights that support informed decision-making.
• Stakeholder Relationship Building - you'll be confident working with people at all levels, across finance and the wider business, building great relationships and becoming a trusted go-to.
• Planning, Forecasting & Reporting Skills - you'll have a passion for precision and be confident supporting everything from monthly reports to 5-year plans.
• Financial Expertise & Industry Insight - you'll bring a solid foundation through a relevant degree and accounting qualification (ACA, CIMA, ACCA - or equivalent experience), ideally paired with knowledge of the insurance or reinsurance world to hit the ground running.

What's involved:

Strategic and Commercial Acumen

• Understand business strategy and be able to tell the story linking to the financial numbers in a simple and effective way
• Develop an understanding and knowledge of key business performance (KPI's) drivers
• Add value through support and challenge of the business through financial insight

Stakeholder Management

• Create excellent relationships with key stakeholders across the wider Finance team and pillar business partner teams

Planning and Forecasting

• Support the creation & coordination of the annual 5 Year Financial plan, annual budget, quarterly and monthly forecasts
• Support the creation of the 5 year financial plan, budget and forecast outputs for the finance leadership team, Exco and boards for Group and each of the entities

Internal Management Reporting & Planning

• Preparation of monthly management accounts and reports for the Group and entities
• High quality and insightful variance analysis and commentary for presentation to Directors, Senior Management and Board
• Support on all Finance related board and committee actions

Cash and Balance Sheet

• Support the creation of the monthly, quarterly and annual cash flow forecasts/ balance sheets across the group and entities

Experience, knowledge & skills:

• Degree educated and a qualified accountant (ACA, CIMA, ACCA) or equivalent experience
• Insurance or reinsurance sector experience? Even better
• Strong communicator - able to make complex things simple and clear
• Great time management - you're used to working to tight deadlines
• Excel and PowerPoint pro - you'll be confident presenting your work to stakeholders
• Commercially minded and not afraid to ask questions or challenge assumptions
• Sharp attention to detail and organised in your approach
• Self-starter with a proactive mindset and flexible attitude

Behaviours:

• Inquisitive and curious - always questioning, always learning
• Accountable - you own your work and see things through to the end
• Positive - you take challenges in your stride and approach things with a can-do attitude
• Team player - you work well with others and help build a collaborative environment

Sound like your kind of role? If you're ready to join a friendly, ambitious team where your work makes a real difference, hit apply - we'd love to hear from you.

What can we do for you?

People first. Always. We're passionate about our colleagues and know the best people deserve an extraordinary working environment. We owe it to them so that's what we offer. Our workplaces are energetic, inspirational, supportive. To get a taste of the advantages you'll enjoy, take a look at all our perks in full here.

Intrigued? Our Talent team can tell you everything you need to know about what we want and what we're offering, so feel free to get in touch.