Group Accountant

Talent Shore Ltd.; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,400,000; Full time

Job summary

Talent Shore Ltd. Johannesburg is seeking a Group Accountant to own the group’s central and holding entities accounting and monthly consolidation. You’ll be hands-on, explaining movements from consolidated P&L to balance sheet and cash flow.

You will work with finance teams across London, Manchester, Berlin, and SA, serving as the main contact for auditors on group matters and driving process improvements in close and reporting.

Qualifications

• Qualified Accountant (ACA/ACCA/CIMA or equivalent) or QBE with 2–3 years' experience in group accounting for SME.
• Audit experience, either in practice or leading audits from the client side.
• Hands-on group consolidation experience, including intercompany and multi-currency.
• Strong Excel skills (V/HLUs, XLOOKUP, Pivots, SUMIFs, building and maintaining consolidation models).
• Multi-entity and currency exposure.
• Good working knowledge of UK accounting principles (FRS 102).
• Multi-jurisdiction exposure, particularly the US or Germany.
• Recruitment or professional services experience.

Responsibilities

• Lead the monthly group consolidation across UK, US and German entities, including intercompany eliminations and FX translation.
• Run month-end for central and holding entities: journals, accruals, prepayments and balance sheet reconciliations.
• Own and maintain the consolidation model and group chart of accounts mapping.

Skills

Group accounting

Intercompany eliminations

Multi-currency

Excel skills

Audit experience

UK GAAP (FRS 102)

US/Germany exposure

SME experience

Education

ACA/ACCA/CIMA or equivalent

Job description

Johannesburg, South Africa | Posted on 15/10/2026

We are a market-leading and award-winning international recruitment consultancy, operating globally across the UK, Germany and the USA. We specialise in recruiting professionals for the built environment and energy sectors.

About the role

The Group Accountant (GA) owns the accounting for the group's central and holding entities and runs the monthly group consolidation. It's a hands‑on role. You'll be the person in the team who knows the group numbers best, from the consolidated P&L through to the balance sheet and cash flow, and who can explain what moved and why.

You'll work closely with the finance teams across London, Manchester, Berlin and South Africa, and you'll be the main point of contact for the auditors on anything group‑level.

Key Responsibilities

Group Accounting & Consolidation

• Lead the monthly group consolidation across the UK, US and German entities, including intercompany eliminations and FX translation
• Run month‑end for the central and holding entities: journals, accruals, prepayments and balance sheet reconciliations
• Own and maintain the consolidation model and group chart of accounts mapping

Reporting

• Prepare the monthly consolidated P&L, balance sheet and cash flow statement, with commentary on the key movements
• Feed group numbers and analysis into the monthly board pack
• Review entity balance sheets across the group and flag anything that looks wrong or needs attention
• Support group cash reporting and cash flow forecasting

Audit & Statutory

• Lead the group audit and act as main point of contact for the auditors on the consolidation and central entities
• Prepare audit schedules and supporting files, and work through queries with the audit team
• Prepare consolidated and central entity statutory accounts
• Support corporation tax and transfer pricing work with our external advisors

Process & Projects

• Tighten the close timetable and controls around the consolidation, and look for parts of the process that can be automated
• Support the CFO on group structure and entity‑level projects as they come up

Technical Requirements

• Qualified Accountant (ACA/ACCA/CIMA or equivalent) or QBE with 2 – 3 years' experience in group accounting role within SME.
• Audit experience, either in practice or leading audits from the client side
• Hands‑on group consolidation experience, including intercompany and multi‑currency
• Strong Excel skills (V/HLUs, XLOOKUP, Pivots, SUMIFs, building and maintaining consolidation models)
• Multi entity and currency exposure
• Good working knowledge of UK accounting principles (FRS 102)
• Multi‑jurisdiction exposure, particularly the US or Germany
• Recruitment or professional services experience