Senior Management Accountant - Financial Services

We’re looking for a Senior Management Accountant to join our finance team supporting our financial services division.

In this role you will lead the preparation of the monthly management accounts for the Financial Services arm of the business, produce analysis to forecast, and oversee preparation of reporting packs to deliver insightful analysis on results to senior stakeholders. You will act as business partner to the Financial Services team, ensuring that results are reported on a timely and accurate basis and trends and deviations from forecasts are full understood.

Reporting to the Group Financial Controller, this role is fundamental to delivering the financial objectives of the group to achieve our growth ambitions.

• Lead on the preparation, governance, and maintenance of the management accounts for Financial Services, ensuring accurate accounting records are produced and reported to key stakeholders in a timely manner
• Review detailed managements accounts; provide in-depth analytical review, specifically comparing performance versus prior period & budget, with narrative and explanations of trends. Resolve and communicate reasons for key variances each month to the wider Finance team, senior management and other stakeholders
• Oversight and review of the preparation of the financial services weekly KPI reports
• Analyse and communicate trends in weekly KPIs to senior stakeholders, including the Director of Financial Services, Director of Credit Risk and Director of FS Commercial Finance
• Support on review production of FCA reporting requirements
• Responsible for producing reporting packs for monthly Financial Services committee meetings, including presenting key results and confidently explaining trends
• Ensure that debt sale accounting is appropriately reflected in the management accounts
• Provide hands on support for establishing balance sheet control across the division, including regular detailed review of balance sheets with significant focus on material balances to identify balance sheet risks.
• Creation of a strong control environment across all areas on financial services finance, ensuring that there is ‘one source of the truth’ and that reports utilised are accurate and consistent
• Develop and evolve month end reporting and analysis to better communicate financial performance to key stakeholders.
• Lead and key audit contact for the financial services audit process, including interim and year end coordination, preparation of relevant technical papers, including IFRS 9
• Support their peers with financial accounting and the production of financial services related disclosures in the Group Annual Report and subsidiary financial statements.
• Develop stakeholder relationships across their division and wider enterprise.
• Support the development of a robust control environment by continuously identifying opportunities to improve financial systems and processes and by implementing these changes.
• Support ongoing non-business as usual project work within the finance team as and when required, including projects relating to inventory financial management.
• Maintain up to date and accurate policy & process documents engaging with other teams and stakeholders for process signoff
• Manage workloads, identify future requirements, and support the Group Financial Controller with continuous improvement
• Line manager or the Financial Services management accountant, encouraging learning and development, setting objectives, coaching, and providing constructive feedback through regular one-to-one meetings
• Any other duties required by the business that are appropriate with the post, grade, and level of responsibility of this role, for which the holder has the necessary experience and training.

The ideal candidate will be qualified (ACA preferred) and will have financial services experience. The candidate will demonstrate the following:

• To look to challenge current ways of working and promote best practices within the Finance team
• Excellent communication skills and ability to collaborate and partner internally with other teams, and support…