Senior Financial Accountant

About the Role

We are thrilled to be seeking a Senior Financial Accountant to join us on a 12-month Fixed Term Contract working across the Forge Holiday Group at our Chester HQ.
In return for your hard-work, we can ensure you join a vibrant, inclusive work culture and make the most of fantastic career progression opportunities alongside some impressive company benefits!

• Paying a salary up to £55,0000 per annum working / 37.5 hours per week / Monday-Friday.
• Plus access to our annual STIP (annual company-wide bonus) scheme with an additional 20% of your salary
• 33 days annual leave including bank holidays
• Plus anadditional day off for your Birthday
• Plus an additional two volunteering days per year
• A flexible hybrid-working policy, with a min two days a week from our Chester head office
• An enhanced maternity and paternity policy
• Inclusive and supportive work environment
• Employee discounts and benefits with your wellbeing at the centre
• Opportunities for career progression, personal development and opportunities to be recognised
• Comprehensive training and development programs to set you up for success
• Study support for additional qualifications, courses and accreditations
• Numerous dedicated wellbeing initiatives and access to 24/7 mental health support
• On-site gym at our Chester HQ
  

Our newest Senior Financial Accountant will join our specialistFinance Team. Youwill be responsible for pro-actively driving forward certain areas of the UK financial accounting processes to ensure the finance accounting department is best in class. This will include taking responsibility for reporting over specific divisions, regions, departments and areas of financial accounting control and pro-actively working with colleagues and other stakeholders to provide continuous improvement and review around these.Your Responsibilities

You will be a constant role model for the Group values, and ensure they become a way of working for the whole team giving every customer (internal and external) a World Class Customer Experience.

The role includes identifying, sharing and spreading best practise throughout the business, and demonstrating excellent teamwork. You will ensure that all decisions are based on the achievement of the Group Strategic Pillars. You will be accountable for delivery in the following areas:

• Leading and pro-actively driving forward improvements to specific divisions/brands/region reporting and ensuring a high standard of financial accounting controls within these areas
• Leading and pro-actively driving forward improvements within specific divisions/regions through pro-active business partnering and making proactive changes to ensure a high standard of financial accounting controls and reporting relating to these divisions
• Leading on and pro-actively driving forward improvements around specific group wide processes (e.g. purchasing process, sales process etc). This will involve conducting regular reviews of the full processes, liaising with all stakeholders, pro-actively questioning processes and implementing change where relevant.
• Leading on pro-actively implementing both external and internal audit recommendations to ensure the finance department is the best it can be.
• Ensuring we have a fully documented group accounting policy manual and group accounting process manual for the areas responsible for
• Ensuring that month end processes and year end processes are completed to a high standard including a full review before it is passed to the Divisional Financial Controllers/ Head of UK Group Finance.
• Providing board standard commentary each month end for areas responsible for including review of work performed by line reports and relevant feed back before it is passed to the Divisional Financial Controller/ Head of UK Group Finance.
• Ensuring that financial statements for the divisions/regions of responsibility for are fully reviewed and completed under FRS101/IFRS as relevant to a high standard before going to the Divisional Financial Controller/ Head of UK Group Finance./external auditors.
• Ensuring that relevant information required for the group consolidation is provided to the Head of UK Group and Head of Group Financial Reporting in a timely manner and to a high standard.
• Managing and supporting line reports to a high standard and ensuring they are continually developing and progressing`
• Ensuring that support is provided to and pro-actively working alongside all other areas of finance such as the Systems team, the commercial team on budgeting and projects and the finance admin team on operational processes and matters.
• Ensuring that technical accounting papers or project papers are prepared to a high standard on all relevant areas that can be provided to the external auditors and/or senior management
• Leading on ensuring that support and guidance is provided to the Divisional/Regional MDs and colleagues to ensure that processes and controls are aligned to head office standard and the relevant support, training and guidance is being pro-actively provided.
• Leading on supporting external audit requirements for relevant areas of responsibility.
• Leading on supporting internal audit requirements for relevant areas of responsibility.
• Leading on the completion of any relevant returns and other compliance requirements
• Pro-actively future looking and thinking how the finance department can adapt as it grows.
• Any other ad-hoc request as specified by the Financial Controller or Head of Group Finance

The Senior Financial Accountant must have credible knowledge of the issues facing the business on a day-to-day basis and in the longer term. They should be able to pro-actively develop and improve business processes whilst maintaining the Groups professional image. They need to be able to provide clear communications between all parts of the business and will be forward looking in anticipating future challenges and opportunities and respond to these with effective planning.

Skills and Qualifications

We are looking for those who can share in our company goals, values and ethos, who can grow alongside us and whose skills can aid our ongoing success!
ByBeing One Team, Owning it, Communicating Honestly and showcasing a devotion toLearning, Growing and Innovating, we remain true to our original ethos and ensure we stay true to our Customers, Owners and Colleagues alike.
First and foremost we are interested in those who have the potential to hold these values, as for this position, we ask you to have the following key skills:

• Accounting qualification with at least 2 years post qualification experience e.g. ACA/ACCA/CIMA.
• Experience in pro-actively leading complex projects that have led to improved control and efficiency
• Experience of identifying, challenging and then changing existing processes
• Experience preparing technical accounting papers on a complex accounting matters to a board and external auditor standard
• Experience in preparing a full set of statutory accounts (FRS or IFSRS) to a high standard that have been signed off by external auditors with minimal review comments
• Experience in all aspects of month end and year end processes (including preparing the UK consolidation) and providing meaningful and insightfulsupporting commentary to a board level standard
• Experience in business partnering with other departments and demonstrating clear improvements made in these areas
• Experience of ownership of a finance process and ensuring that processes are fully documented and clear controls are in place and being monitored
• Experience of review of another piece of work within a finance department with clear and concise feedback given
• Experience in compliance reporting
• Experience of management of a line report and evidence of clear development of the line report
• Experience working with Excel to a high standard.
• Attention to detail
• Friendly approach to all members of the organisation
• Highly self-motivated and proactive
• Professional approach and attitude
• Takes ownership
• Maintains focus under pressure
• Demonstrates a positive attitude

Although standouts will also have:

• Experience working with SAP or Access
• Experience in a commercial finance department
• Experience in budgeting
• IFRS and consolidation experience
• Experience of M&A and integration processes

If you are actively seeking your next career challenge, keen to join a diverse, exciting team, or want to grow your career within an industry leader, we welcome you to get in touch or apply!
The Forge Holiday Group
The Forge Holiday Group encompasses Sykes Holiday Cottages, Forest Holidays, UKcaravans4hire and Bachcare in New Zealand and unites us under four company values, which are the foundations of every aspect of our business and remain at the heart of everything we do.By Being One Team, Owning it, Communicating Honestly and showcasing a devotion to Learning, Growing and Innovating, we remain true to our original ethos and ensure we stay true to our Customers, Owners and Colleagues alike.
Diversity and Inclusion:
We encourage and welcome our people to bring their authentic and best selves to work every day. We know the power that comes from different ideas, backgrounds and perspectives. We recognise the role diversity plays in achieving our goals as a business. We actively welcome applications from as wide a range of backgrounds as possible. If you need any particular support or accommodations as part of your application process, please get in touch - our recruitment team are happy to help.
Hybrid Working:
We are proud to support hybrid-working across the business, with a mixture or remote and office working available. This will be discussed during your interview.

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