Group Management Accountant

Job description

Reporting to: Group Financial Controller Location: Leeds (Hybrid) Salary: £45,000 – £55,000 About Audience Collective Audience Collective is a group of specialist agencies delivering growth for ambitious brands. We operate as an integrated model, combining specialist agency capability with strong commercial discipline. Our finance function enables this through robust financial control, reliable reporting, scalable processes and commercially relevant insight that supports decision-making across the Group. Role Purpose The Group Management Accountant is responsible for the coordination, accuracy and quality of finance outputs across multiple agencies and entities. The role ensures that core finance processes are delivered accurately, consistently and on time, with clear documentation, strong working-capital visibility and practical commercial insight. The role acts as the key operational link between transactional finance activity, Finance Business Partners, agency stakeholders and the Group Management Accountant The role is responsible for supporting: Month-end close and management reporting Balance sheet reconciliations and financial control evidence Multi-entity reporting consistency and intercompany reconciliations Agency revenue recognition, WIP, accrued income and deferred income review Working capital, cash flow inputs and debtor/creditor visibility Payroll coordination and payroll-to-GL reconciliation Budgeting, forecasting and variance analysis support Finance systems, data quality and process improvement Audit, year-end and compliance support Authority, Decision-Making and Escalation The Group Management Accountant is accountable for: Accuracy, completeness and timeliness of agreed finance outputs Coordinating month-end and reporting timetables Reviewing transactional finance outputs for consistency and evidence Preparing schedules and analysis for Group Management Accountant review Maintaining process discipline, documentation and data quality Identifying issues and supporting practical resolution The role is expected to: Challenge incomplete, inaccurate or unsupported finance outputs Coordinate dependencies across transactional finance, FBPs and agency stakeholders Maintain clear close checklists, evidence trails and issue logs Highlight reporting, working-capital, payroll, WIP or billing risks early Escalate where matters require technical judgement, control sign-off or senior decision-making Escalation to the Group Financial Controller is required for: Technical accounting judgements Material balance sheet or reconciliation risks Unresolved intercompany differences Revenue recognition, WIP or billing issues with material impact Significant payroll, VAT, cash flow or compliance risks Audit or year-end matters requiring judgement Process ownership issues that cannot be resolved through normal working rhythms Key Responsibilities Month-End Close and Reporting Coordination Coordinate month-end close activity across agencies and entities. Ensure journals, accruals, prepayments and reconciliations are complete, accurate and supported. Review finance outputs for consistency, completeness and evidence before escalation. Support delivery of reporting packs to agreed timelines. Maintain month-end checklists, action logs and issue trackers. Outcome: Accurate, reliable and timely month-end close. Multi-Entity Coordination and Intercompany Support Support reporting consistency across multiple agencies and entities. Prepare and maintain intercompany reconciliations and balance schedules. Assist with consolidation inputs for Group Financial Controller review. Highlight unresolved differences, inconsistent treatment or data-quality issues. Support consistent application of agreed reporting processes across entities. Outcome: Clean multi-entity inputs and stronger consolidation support. Financial Control and Balance Sheet Integrity Ensure balance sheet reconciliations are completed monthly and supported by evidence. Review aged, unreconciled or unusual balances and coordinate follow-up. Maintain clear documentation and audit trails. Support VAT, payroll and compliance-related finance processes. Escalate control issues or judgement-based matters promptly. Outcome: Stronger balance sheet discipline and reduced control risk. Agency Revenue Recognition, WIP and Billing Accuracy Support the monthly review of revenue across retainers, projects, media/pass-through activity and milestone-based work. Monitor WIP, accrued income, deferred income and billing cut-off. Work with FBPs and agency stakeholders to identify billing gaps, underbilling, over-servicing or margin leakage. Support reconciliation between project, billing and finance data. Escalate material revenue recognition or judgement-based matters to the Group Financial Controller. Outcome: Improved revenue accuracy, stronger billing discipline and clearer margin visibility. Working Capital and Cash Flow Support Monitor aged debt, creditor positions and working-capital movements. Support cash flow reporting through accurate debtor, creditor, payroll, VAT and committed-cost inputs. Work with FBPs and transactional finance colleagues to support debtor follow-up and cash collection visibility. Highlight cash conversion risks, billing delays and working-capital trends. Outcome: Better cash visibility and improved working-capital discipline. Payroll Coordination and Reconciliation Coordinate monthly payroll inputs and validation activity. Review payroll data for completeness and accuracy, including starters, leavers, salary changes, bonus, commission and absence inputs. Liaise with HR, payroll providers and finance stakeholders to resolve queries. Reconcile payroll outputs to the finance system and management reporting. Maintain payroll documentation and control evidence. Escalate statutory, pension, benefit or judgement-based payroll matters as required. Outcome: Accurate, controlled and well-documented payroll outputs. Budgeting, Forecasting and Variance Analysis Support Support the annual budget and rolling reforecast processes. Coordinate finance inputs and ensure submissions are complete and consistent. Prepare variance analysis against budget, forecast and prior periods. Highlight risks, opportunities and emerging trends. Work with the Head of FP&A and Group Financial Controller to ensure actuals, cash and forecast inputs are aligned. Outcome: Better planning support and clearer visibility of risks and opportunities. Management Reporting and Insight Produce and validate management reporting outputs. Provide clear commentary on revenue, margin, costs, working capital and balance sheet movements. Support the Group Management Accountant with reporting schedules and insight. Translate finance outputs into practical language for non-finance stakeholders. Ensure reporting is consistent, timely and decision useful. Outcome: Trusted financial reporting that supports better decision-making. Stakeholder Support and Commercial Awareness Act as a finance contact for agency teams, FBPs and operational stakeholders. Provide practical guidance on billing, cost coding, working capital and reporting queries. Challenge inaccuracies, missing evidence or weak financial discipline constructively. Support commercial conversations with clear data and practical insight. Escalate material commercial risks to the relevant finance owner. Outcome: Finance is accessible, credible and commercially useful. Systems, Data and Process Improvement Maintain finance data accuracy and integrity across relevant systems. Identify inefficiencies, duplication and manual workarounds. Support standardisation of finance processes across agencies. Maintain process documentation and clear handoffs. Support automation and improved use of finance systems where appropriate. Work with the Group Financial Controller on improvements to reporting, reconciliations and control processes. Outcome: More consistent, efficient and scalable finance operations. Audit, Year-End and Compliance Support Prepare schedules and supporting documentation for audit and year-end. Support audit queries within agreed authority. Maintain evidence for reconciliations, payroll, VAT, intercompany, revenue and working-capital processes. Escalate technical, statutory or judgement-based issues to the Group Financial Controller. Support smoother year-end delivery through clean documentation and timely responses. Outcome: Audit-ready schedules and reduced year-end friction. Scaling Finance Processes Across the Group Support the development of a scalable finance operating model. Help embed consistent close processes, documentation, controls and reporting standards. Identify recurring issues and support practical process improvements. Support integration of new agencies, entities, systems or reporting requirements where required. Contribute to a finance function that can scale without relying on informal workarounds. Outcome: Finance processes are more robust, repeatable and fit for Group growth. WHAT WE OFFER • Hybrid working (Leeds office Tuesday–Thursday) • 25 days’ holiday + 3 celebration days • 37.5‑hour working week • Pension, life insurance and income protection • EAP and 24/7 virtual GP access Success Measures – 6-9 Months Month-end delivered accurately and on time. Balance sheet reconciliations completed, evidenced and understood. Intercompany balances prepared, reviewed and unresolved differences escalated. Revenue recognition, WIP, accrued income and deferred income reviewed monthly. Payroll delivered accurately, reconciled and documented. Working-capital reporting improves debtor, creditor and cash visibility. Reporting outputs are trusted by the Group Financial Controller, Head of FP&A, FBPs and agency stakeholders. Budget and forecast support is timely, accurate and clearly evidenced. Finance processes are better documented, more consistent and less manual. Errors, rework and unclear handoffs reduce over time. Stakeholders have confidence in finance outputs and escalation routes. About You You will bring: ACCA/ACA qualified or newly qualified finance experience. Experience in a Management Accountant, Senior Management Accountant, Group Management Accountant, Assistant Finance Manager or similar operational finance role. Experience in an SME, agency, professional services, project-led or multi-entity environment. Strong month-end, management reporting and balance sheet reconciliation experience. Good understanding of financial control, evidence standards and audit-ready documentation. Exposure to intercompany reconciliations, multi-entity reporting or consolidation inputs. Exposure to revenue recognition, WIP, accrued income, deferred income, billing cut-off or project-based accounting. Experience supporting budgeting, forecasting and variance analysis. Experience supporting payroll inputs, payroll validation or payroll-to-GL reconciliation. Strong Excel and finance systems capability. Confidence working with non-finance stakeholders and explaining finance clearly. Strong attention to detail, organisation and follow-through. Ability to coordinate deadlines and influence quality without direct line authority. Comfortable working in a fast-paced, multi-entity environment with competing deadlines. Practical, curious and improvement-minded approach to systems, data and process improvement.