Group Financial Accountant - Global Financial Services PLC - Up to £65,000 Bonus Benefits

Job Description

Search Criteria:

1. Fully-qualified (ACA/ACCA/CIMA) candidate with Group financial reporting or consolidations experience, preferably from a Big 4 (or top 10 practice) or from industry
2. An individual with a good understanding of financial statement concepts and principles and end-to-end financial statement preparation
3. Strong technical skills: the individual will need to have a proven track record in preparing complex consolidations together with an understanding of IFRS and IFRS to local GAAP adjustments
4. Ability to work in a fast-paced and dynamic environment
5. Confident user of Excel with Oracle or Hyperion experience being a bonus (but is not essential)
6. Good communication and influencing skills with stakeholder management experience
7. A candidate with sufficient experience to hit the ground running with this role

Role purpose:Reporting to the Group Consolidations Manager, the role is to support the global consolidation and reporting processes of the Groupin accordance with IFRS. The role is focused on accounting for the impact of foreign exchange rates, monitoring the eliminationof intercompany balances and investment in subsidiaries. Accounting for JVs, associates and non-controlling interests. Involvement in the preparation of monthly management reporting as well as the annual report and interim financial statements.Key responsibilities include:

• Liaison with regional entities controllers to ensure a timely and accurate close across 27 countries.
• Liaising with other Group functions (Tax, Legal, Company Secretarial, Treasury and Compliance) and Regional Finance teams to ensure that supporting analysis for the annual report is prepared and delivered to meet the Groups external reporting requirements.
• Assisting the Group Finance team with their relationship with the external and internal audit teams to ensure an efficient and effective review process.
• Working with the Group FP&A team to prepare quality consolidated reports for the senior management team.
• Assisting with the preparation of monthly consolidated Balance Sheet and Cash Flow.
• Preparation of monthly Balance Sheet reconciliations to ensure integrity and appropriate understanding / analysis of business unit submissions and overall consolidated results.
• Providing support to the budgeting and forecast processes through the preparation of Group balance sheet projections and related notes and analysis.
• Proactively making appropriate recommendations for amendments to the Groups chart of accounts, systems, processes and procedures to enhance the timeliness and quality of the output from Group Finance.
• Preparation of the Groups consolidated accounts and related notes disclosures under IFRS and associated analysis, including review of regional GAAP inputs.
• Preparation of the Groups foreign direct investment return on a quarterly basis for submission to the Office of National Statistics.
• Supporting the wider teams delivery requirements including ad hoc project work as required.

Skills & Experience:

• The role will involve high levels of liaison within Group Finance and with members of the Regional finance teams and will require the exercise of effective influencing skills.
• The individual will need to become a trusted and respected member of the financial reporting team.
• Ideal candidates are likely to be professionally qualified accountants with an audit background coupled with previous experience of multi-currency consolidations and plc group accounts.
• The individual will need to have a proven track record in preparing complex consolidations together with an understanding of IFRS and IFRS to local GAAP adjustments.
• They need to have a strong attention to detail and be able to identify, understand and correct accounting anomalies against the background of a dynamic and expanding business.
• Experience in using excel to an advanced level, as well as experience of Oracle and Hyperion applications would be beneficial.
• Strong communication skills are essential, as is a propensity for intensive team work to bring about positive outcomes.