Manager - Accounting Advisory Services - Transport - UK Wide

The Team

KPMG's dedicated Transport Advisory team within our Infrastructure, Government and Healthcare (IGH) Consulting practice provides specialist financial, commercial and strategic advice to the transport sector (both public and private sector participants), focusing on the rail and bus markets in the UK and globally. We are currently experiencing an unprecedented demand for our services, both in the UK rail contracted market, where KPMG is the dominant provider of financial and commercial advice, and within the wider transport industry including infrastructure providers and bus operations. Successful candidates would initially work on engagements supporting clients to develop financial forecasts and business plans, through working in a management role within KPMG finance teams. Typical engagements will be supporting transport client teams to generate and challenge costs and revenues to underpin their business plans, whether for a specific contract, transaction or as part of a transformation programme, market entry into a new country, or across a whole business unit for a defined planning period. There will also be opportunity to work on other transport focussed projects in the team.

Recent projects have included delivering the finance workstream of a major organisational transformation programme, advising operators to bid for or negotiate contracts, advising Network Rail on its financial forecasts in relation to its regulatory settlement, market entry studies for public and private sector transport clients, financial due diligence on transactions across the rail industry value chain, and contract mobilisations.

The Role

• Providing specialised financial and commercial advice and support to UK public and private sector transport clients.
• Providing financial and commercial challenge to help clients develop robust and competitive bids and credible financial forecasts.
• Serving as a member of the KPMG team on rail franchise/concession bids, supporting the finance workstream lead and leading sub-workstreams.
• Serving as a member of the KPMG team on other engagements focused on financial planning and commercial advice to transport operators and infrastructure providers.
• Building and maintaining strong relationships with both clients and KPMG individuals.
• Contributing to practice management, including thought leadership, business development activities and general practice development.
• Candidates are expected to become active members of KPMG's wider transport network, developing sector knowledge to help grow the wider global transport practice.
• People management and development, for example by acting as a Performance Manager for more junior staff.
• Engagement management.

The Person

• Qualified accountant (or highly financially literate).
• Significant experience in a finance role in either professional practice focussing on the transport industry or in a public or private sector transport business.
• Examples of experience required includes one or more of UK rail, UK bus, or UK rail infrastructure. Including for example understanding of the wider UK rail and/or bus sector, the key stakeholders, and their strategic and commercial priorities. Understanding of key risks facing transport operators, and how to mitigate them.
• Other desirable experience would include working within UK rail supply chain, rolling stock manufacturers, ROSCOs or international transport.
• Experience of rail franchise bidding highly desirable, but not mandatory for exceptional candidates.
• Proven ability to motivate people and work in a team.
• Proven track record of being able to act on own initiative and be able to develop innovative solutions.
• Experience of working as an external advisor in a consultancy capacity desirable, particularly in multi-disciplinary teams including specialists such as modellers and technical advisors.
• Experience and knowledge of the risk and engagement management processes within regulated professional services firms.
• Analytical ability and attention to detail.
• Network of existing clients in the rail and/or bus industry.
• Willingness to learn and to try new things, and to be deployed across a variety of other KPMG projects (including outside the transport sector) as required.

This role can be based in any of KPMG's main regional offices