Management Accountant

Job Role: Management Accountant

Reporting to: Finance Manager

Location: Head Office, Edgbaston, Birmingham

The Company

As one of the leading high street opticians and hearing care providers, established since 1938, we have over 180 optical and hearing care branches within the UK. The business was started by Solomon Scriven, a qualified optician and pharmacist, and over the years has grown to include branches from Hartlepool in the north to Penzance in the south, Diss in the east to Rhyl in the west. As the business has expanded, we’ve acquired individual practices and optical chains including Melson Wingate, Ronald Brown Opticians, and the Owl Group. As we continue to grow, we’ve made sure that our core focus has remained the same: providing our customers with excellent service and clinical excellence.

Scope and Remit of the Role

Reporting to the Group Finance Manager, you will be leading the Management Accounting Team to produce the monthly management accounts for a number of companies within the group. The ideal candidate brings strong technical accounting knowledge with the experience to analyse complex financial data in a precise manner and is a natural mentor who thrives in a fast-paced environment where prioritising tasks to meet deadlines is crucial.

Key Responsibilities

• Preparation of the management accounts for the group companies
• Generate periodic financial reports, including profitability and variance analysis as well as analysing product margins
• Support the budgeting process for the group companies to ensure accurate budgets are produced in a timely manner
• Provide actionable insights to the senior management to take informed strategic decisions
• Ability to communicate complex financial information clearly and concisely to non-financial stakeholders
• Lead the Management Accounting team to ensure that accruals, prepayments, and depreciation are recorded in a timely manner within each period close
• Reconciliation of VAT and other balance sheet accounts
• Oversee the periodic group bank accounts reconciliations
• Work with the Auditors during the audit and support the year-end reporting and statutory accounts process
• Tracking and monitoring of inventory levels, costs, analysis, and posting of inventory journals and oversee the quarterly stock take process
• Ensure agreement of intercompany transactions and conduct periodic reconciliations with other businesses within the Group
• Manage and maintain the chart of accounts within the accounting software
• Day to day management of the team and undertaking regular 1-2-1 meetings and performance reviews
• Driving continuous improvement of the management accounting department to ensure efficiency, accuracy, and best practice
• Ensuring adherence to the Company’s procedures and financial compliance
• Assist senior finance management in other ad hoc responsibilities as required

Key Personnel Attributes

• Qualified Accountant (CIMA, ACCA or equivalent)
• Minimum of 3 years Management Accounts experience within a high volume environment
• Experience of leading, coaching and developing a team
• Advanced Excel skills
• Strong data analysis experience
• Self-starter with an aptitude to take on new challenges