Head of Financial Reporting & Assurance

Buro Happold; Bath; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Private medical insurance

Life assurance

Income protection

10% Car allowance

25 days holiday

Pension scheme

Flexible benefits

Enhanced parental leave

3pm Friday finish

Learning & development program

Professional body memberships

Wellbeing programme

International culture

Job summary

Head of Financial Reporting & Assurance at Buro Happold in Bath leads global statutory reporting and external audits, partnering with regional finance teams and senior stakeholders to ensure accuracy, compliance and robust governance.

This newly created leadership role shapes the financial governance framework, drives improvement, and delivers high-quality reporting across more than 20 entities while mentoring the finance team in a collaborative, hybrid working environment.

Qualifications

• ACA, ACCA or equivalent qualification with at least five years' post-qualification experience.
• Extensive experience leading statutory reporting within a complex international and multi-entity environment.
• Strong knowledge of UK GAAP and IFRS.
• Proven experience managing external audits and working with senior stakeholders.
• Understanding of financial controls, governance frameworks and assurance practices.
• Ability to communicate complex accounting matters clearly at senior level.
• Experience in professional services, engineering, consultancy or project-based environments is advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Lead global statutory reporting and coordinate audits across multiple jurisdictions.
• Serve as primary contact for external auditors and drive improvements in the audit process.
• Provide technical accounting leadership across the organisation, ensuring compliance with UK GAAP, IFRS and evolving requirements.
• Develop and maintain accounting policies, governance procedures and reporting standards.
• Lead assurance reviews, identify reporting risks and provide insight to senior finance leadership.
• Support finance transformation initiatives, including automation, data analytics and AI-enabled reporting processes.
• Build relationships across Finance, Tax, Treasury, Risk and the wider business while mentoring colleagues.

Skills

Leadership

Technical accounting

Stakeholder engagement

Governance

Education

ACA/ACCA or equivalent

Job description

Are you the finance leader who can bring together technical accounting excellence, robust governance and global stakeholder influence?

This person can be based in our Bath office on a hybrid working model.

At Buro Happold, we create positive change through exceptional engineering, design and consultancy. Operating across a global network of offices, we work on some of the world's most influential and complex projects, helping clients deliver sustainable solutions that improve communities and the built environment.

We are seeking an experienced and technically strong Head of Financial Reporting & Assurance to join our Global Finance team. This is a newly created leadership opportunity offering significant visibility and influence across the business. Acting as the deputy to the Director of Financial Accounting & Reporting, you will play a pivotal role in shaping our financial governance framework, strengthening reporting standards, and driving excellence across statutory reporting, audit management and technical accounting.

About The Role

As Head of Financial Reporting & Assurance, you will lead the operational delivery of our global statutory reporting and external audit programme across more than 20 entities, partnering closely with regional finance teams, senior stakeholders and external auditors. You will ensure the highest standards of compliance, transparency and financial stewardship while helping evolve our global finance function.

What you'll be doing:

• Leading the global statutory reporting function and coordinating audits across multiple jurisdictions.
• Acting as the primary day-to-day contact for external auditors and driving continuous improvement across the audit process.
• Providing technical accounting leadership across the organisation, ensuring compliance with UK GAAP, IFRS and evolving regulatory requirements.
• Developing and maintaining accounting policies, governance procedures and reporting standards.
• Leading assurance reviews, identifying reporting risks and providing insight to senior finance leadership.
• Supporting finance transformation initiatives, including automation, data analytics and AI-enabled reporting processes.
• Building strong relationships across Finance, Tax, Treasury, Risk and the wider business while mentoring colleagues and promoting a culture of continuous improvement.

About You:

We're looking for a qualified finance professional who combines deep technical expertise with strong commercial awareness, leadership capability and a passion for continuous improvement.

You’ll bring:

• ACA, ACCA or equivalent qualification with at least five years' post-qualification experience.
• Extensive experience leading statutory reporting within a complex international and multi-entity environment.
• Strong technical knowledge of UK GAAP and IFRS.
• Proven experience managing external audits and working with senior stakeholders.
• A strong understanding of financial controls, governance frameworks and assurance practices.
• The ability to communicate complex accounting matters clearly and influence at senior level.
• Experience within professional services, engineering, consultancy or other project-based environments would be particularly advantageous.

Why Join Buro Happold?

At Buro Happold, we believe in creating a better, more sustainable world. You'll be part of a team that values innovation, collaboration, and excellence. We offer a supportive environment where your contributions make a real difference.

What we Offer You:

Bring your knowledge and expertise to one of the world's most respected consultancies.

• Hybrid working arrangements.
• Attractive salary and benefits package including private medical insurance, life assurance and income protection.
• 10% Car allowance.
• Holiday entitlement of 25 days per annum (exclusive of bank holidays) and flexible holiday arrangements.
• Generous company pension scheme.
• Flexible benefits including cycle scheme, dental insurance, optical cover, travel insurance, season ticket loans, and corporate discounts.
• Enhanced parenthood leave policies.
• 3pm finish on the last Friday of the month.
• A strong commitment to your continuous development. Whatever stage in your career, we have a learning and development programme that will enable and empower you.
• Entitlement to two memberships to professional bodies or subscriptions.
• A commitment to your wellbeing through a comprehensive employee assistance programme and wellbeing activities. A supportive and inclusive environment that will welcome you through social and outreach activities from the Young Employees Forum to mentoring.
• An international culture that wherever your career takes you at Buro Happold, you won't be far from the exceptional.

Buro Happold values individual's flexible approaches to working patterns as an important part of the way you work and achieve balance. We welcome applications from those who are seeking flexibility in their careers.

Our exceptional portfolio of projects is the result of the diversity of thought, identities, backgrounds and experiences that shape us. Appreciating each other's differences is key, we want employees to feel they don't have to mask elements of their identity to thrive.

We are working to change the lack of representation of marginalised groups in the built environment and are particularly keen to hear from anyone who feels they are underrepresented in the industry. We have much to learn from one another. Embracing difference allows us to develop the most innovative and elegant solutions.