The Position
Group Finance have a variety of responsibilities including consolidation of the Group’s results, business partnering for the Group’s central overhead departments, providing direction to regional teams, working on ad hoc strategic projects, reviewing and assessing controls and associated processes globally over core financial processes.As part of the Group Finance team the Group Finance Accountant will need to work with the Group Financial Reporting Accountant and Group Management Accountant as well as other Heads of Finance and Departments and other stakeholders across the business supporting the team to report updates to the Finance Leadership Team and other department heads, helping to prepare the consolidation of the year-end group accounts, management reports, and providing ad hoc reporting as required. Key Accountabilities Business Partnering Support on monthly management reporting for different Group business units for the preparation of the Group Monthly Reporting “pack” and Central overhead cost centres (including Group project cost centres) for the Group Management Accountant to review. This will include preparation of accruals and prepayments, key reports, investigating and resolving anomalies, explaining key variances between budget and actuals, reforecasting and providing insight to senior non-finance budget owners. Group Reporting In addition to the monthly reporting, the role will also aide the preparation of the Group’s consolidated financial statements for the year end annual accounts and quarterly bank reporting. The role will also support the Group’s annual business planning and budget cycles, preparing analyses to support these cycles and help to explain key changes and drivers behind variances. Finance transformation RES is going through a significant period of systems change and this role will need to be comfortable in onboarding and embracing new technology and working with finance partners to engage with the transformation program and its deliverables including the implementation of a new ERP system. Statutory reporting As part of the year-end process, you will be involved in preparing key reconciliations for the Group’s overhead departments, assist in the preparation of the group consolidation and statutory group audited accounts as well as handling auditor queries as they arise. Ad Hoc Projects The Group CFO, Head of Group Finance and Senior Manager (Group Reporting and Consolidation) will have other improvement projects ongoing that support our strategic objectives which we will encourage you to participate in. Knowledge
1. Good financial reporting knowledge
2. Good consolidation, P&L and Balance Sheet accounting knowledge to help prepare monthly and annual financial reporting supporting senior finance leaders and the annual budgeting and reporting processes.
3. Technical accounting knowledge (IFRS) to support the Group Management Accountant and Group Financial Reporting Accountant and other members of the UK finance community.
4. Good knowledge of financial control (and what “good” financial control looks like) and the ability to develop.
Skills
5. Strong communication skills with the confidence to liaise directly with senior management and external auditors;
6. Tenacity and attention to detail, to be able to deliver high quality financial information that will ultimately support management decisions at Board level;
7. The ability to work autonomously at times, developing a network, to meet routine internal reporting deadlines;
8. Managing multiple requests
9. Meeting deadlines and managing stakeholder expectations
10. Strong Microsoft Excel skills;
Experience
11. Reporting under IFRS
12. Experience of management reporting (analysing and or preparing department or cost centre reporting (budget vs actuals and forecast).
13. Experience with preparing and reviewing balance sheet reconciliations.
14. Experience working with and communicating with senior non-finance stakeholders.
15. Experience in working with auditors and managing audit queries.
16. Reviewing controls for process documentation and improvement (not essential)
Qualifications
17. Qualified accountant (ACA/ACCA)