Senior Group Accountant

From day one, our mission has been to create an independent business with a unique culture - one that is controlled by the people who work for it. Finding the most talented and entrepreneurial people has always been key to our success.

People come to Howden Group Holdings for lots of different reasons, but they stay for the same one: our culture. That's what sets us apart, and why we nurture and retain the best talent in the market. Whatever your priorities - work/life balance, career progression, sustainability, volunteering - you'll find like-minded people driving change at Howden Group.

Who we are:

HGH Group Finance is split into three teams:

• Internal reporting (management and lender reporting)
• External reporting (consolidated statutory accounts)
• Group accounting and Legal entities management (policies, technical accounting, central entities)

This role within Group accounting team will support various finance teams in following ways:

• Accounting policies - continuous development and improvement of policies and support finance teams with application
• Technical accounting - accounting position papers and technical accounting research / projects
• Group accounts - help with preparing certain sections of Group consolidated accounts

What we're looking for:

We're looking for someone who can understand and tackle technical accounting questions and challenges, but would enjoy working and liaising with other finance teams (both UK and international) and different areas of the business (e.g. IT, operations).

Whilst HGH is a group of insurance broking companies / underwriting agencies, working experience within Insurance / banking sector could be helpful but is not a requirement.

What we need from you

Accounting policies:

• Update existing policies and assist in development of new ones (as required)
• Maintaining Group chart of accounts and liaising with External reporting when new accounts are required (consider impacts to issued accounting policies)
• Assist in the maintenance and improvement of financial controls, including relationship with internal and external audit
• Collate topics for accounting updates from Group / Divisional / Local finance teams
• In initial stages, the person is expected to participate in month end process to gain good working understanding of different finance systems and interaction between them

Technical accounting (position papers and advice):

• Preparing accounting papers for specific / significant transactions e.g.
  • Business combinations / reorganisations
  • Intangible assets capitalisation
  • Financing transactions etc.
• Assist in IFRS 16 quarterly reporting on leases for the whole Group
• Assessing accounting queries for compliance with accounting policies
• Assisting in preparing technical accounting advice on topics not covered by accounting policies to be relied upon by various stakeholders (subsidiaries, divisional finance teams) and tracking a list of topics that should be added to policies
• Identifying inconsistencies and exploring opportunities to simplify or improve speed and/or quality of delivery of various financial accounting processes
• Assisting in preparing initial journals for new, significant, unusual and/or complex transactions
• Support subsidiaries with IFRS related queries

Group accounts:

• Assist in preparing sections of Statutory consolidated accounts e.g. disclosures of one off transactions, M&A activities, leases
• Supporting external and internal audit processes

Key accountabilities (what you are measured on)

• Timeliness of accounting papers preparation (project management is essential)
• Annual update of accounting policies
• Year-end audit process and related deliverables
• Suggest and implement improvements / simplifications to processes and documentation to make them easier to understand
• Development of collaboration within and between various teams (finance/tax/legal)
• Effective delivery of ad hoc projects and responsibilities

Key competencies (knowledge and experience)

• Good working knowledge of IFRS and UK GAAP Understanding of UK law related to accounting and statutory reporting Ability to discuss and explain accounting concepts to non-accountants Understanding of consolidation accounting (including business combinations, non-controlling interest) Good understanding accounting topics and direct exposure in some of the following areas:
• Leases
• Intangibles assets - accounting for internally developed assets / implementation costs
• Share based payments
• Insurance accounting (some exposure to this area would be beneficial)
• Some experience in working with General ledger and consolidation systems would be beneficial Previous exposure to and involvement in preparing or auditing of Group accounts would be beneficial Strong project management and good communication skills

What do we offer in return?

A career that you define.

Yes, we offer all the usual rewards and benefits - including great healthcare provision, a wide variety of wellbeing offers, competitive salary, generous pensions and more - but we know you expect all that.

What you might not expect is a job where everyone has a voice, where volunteering in the community is part of the day job, and where everyone is encouraged to play a part towards our sustainability goals. We want people who want to make a difference - not just in the workplace, but in the industry and in the wider community.

Our Culture: People First

We are proud to be at the global table, but we are most proud of our culture. It has been built on a single and constant set of principles over more than 25 years, and it has helped us become:

• An international group with independence and people at its heart
• A home for talent with a unique culture: the biggest small company in the world

The focus on being a People First business has always been at the very heart of the Group. David's vision was to create an independent business with a unique culture; one that would survive and thrive as a business controlled by the people working for it. Finding the most talented and entrepreneurial people to join the Group has been and will continue to be key.

Diversity & Inclusion

At Howden Group Holdings we consider our people our chief competitive advantage and as such we treat colleagues, candidates, clients, and business partners with equality, fairness and respect, regardless of their age, disability, race, religion or belief, gender, sexual orientation, marital status or family circumstances.

Additional Job Details

Worker Type:

Permanent