Technical Accountant

Job description

We’re on a mission to make migration easy. We started building Marshmallow in 2017. Since then, we’ve grown from 3 to 700+ people, gained unicorn status, raised ~£140M over three funding rounds, turned profitable, insured millions of drivers and lent millions in car loans. But we’re only just getting started. Our goal is to become one of the largest financial services providers in the world. Over the next 10 years we’ll grow exponentially, not only by scaling our existing products, but also by building new ones. To achieve our goals we need incredibly ambitious, commercially driven people who never settle for ‘good enough’. Marshmallowers are hungry for autonomy and ownership, and would rather improve than coast. Everyone raises standards and has an impact, with a focus on collective success over self-interest. We’ve created an environment where curious, tenacious people win and grow together. If that sounds motivating, this could be the place for you. About the role This is a senior individual contributor role and the Controllership team's primary technical accounting expert. You will own the most complex and judgement-intensive accounting areas across the Group — spanning the UK insurance broker, claims handling, car finance and its associated SPV structure, and the Group holding company — and act as the go-to resource for the team, business stakeholders, and external auditors on technical accounting matters. You will work with a high degree of autonomy, reporting directly to the Group Financial Controller. You are expected to solve complex problems independently, document and defend accounting positions to audit standard, coach more junior colleagues, and communicate clearly to senior stakeholders across Finance and the wider business. This role sits at the heart of the Group's effort to close legacy accounting gaps, maintain audit readiness, and build controls that scale as Marshmallow grows. London (hybrid, 3 days in office) What you'll own Technical accounting across the Group - Own and maintain Group accounting policies across all entities in scope, ensuring alignment with FRS 102 and applicable regulatory requirements - Lead the Group's FRS 102 (2026 amendments) impact assessment and transition — with particular focus on revised revenue recognition and expected credit loss provisions across the business - Be the authoritative internal voice on complex, judgement-intensive areas across the Group including: share-based payments, capital development and intangibles, lease accounting, bad debt provisioning and impairment, periodic payment orders (PPOs), HP loan recognition and ECL provisioning, and SPV accounting - Own the technical accounting for the car finance business and its associated SPV structure - Own the technical accounting for the UK insurance broking and claims handling businesses - Drive resolution of legacy technical items and prior year audit findings — working through open issues to root-cause resolution rather than one-off workarounds Revenue recognition — transformation workstream - Lead the documentation and review of revenue recognition policies across the business, ensuring they are accurate, consistently applied, and fit for audit scrutiny - Own the technical accounting perspective on the revenue data workstream — understanding how revenue flows are constructed, identifying any gaps between accounting policy and practice, and driving remediation where needed - Work cross-functionally with Engineering, Data, and FP&A to ensure the financial reporting of revenue is grounded in a robust and well-documented technical foundation Insurance knowledge — Group-level review and challenge - Insurance industry knowledge is a core requirement of this role — while BAU technical accounting for the Group's insurance underwriting entity (based in Gibraltar) sits with a separate Finance team, you will be expected to review, challenge, and engage with Gibraltar Finance team from a Group perspective - This includes understanding earned premium, technical provisions, reinsurance accounting, and the financial reporting implications of the Group's insurance structures — and being able to apply that understanding in Group consolidation and in conversations with auditors - You will bring a Group finance lens to insurance-related accounting questions arising across the business Audit readiness & accounting quality - Prepare and review complex balance sheet reconciliations and accounting entries across the entities in scope, maintaining the quality and evidencing standard required for external audit - Act as the primary Finance contact for external auditors on technical accounting judgements — prepare clear, well-evidenced documentation for complex or contested positions - Proactively identify and close accounting quality gaps, with a focus on sustainable fixes that hold up to scrutiny in future audit cycles Coaching & cross-functional collaboration - Actively coach and develop more junior colleagues on technical accounting topics — raising the overall capability of the team is a genuine expectation of this role, not a secondary duty - Work alongside FP&A, Actuarial, Legal, and new business teams to embed technical accounting requirements early in product and process design - Support the Group Financial Controller in preparing clear technical accounting analysis for senior Finance stakeholders What we're looking for Technical accounting knowledge - ACA, ACCA or equivalent — fully qualified, with substantial post-qualification experience in a technical accounting or senior controllership role - Insurance industry knowledge is essential — you must have a working understanding of insurance accounting (earned premium, technical provisions, reinsurance structures) and be able to apply and challenge it at Group level from day one - Advanced, demonstrable command of FRS 102 and/or IFRS, with a track record of applying complex standards and documenting accounting judgements to audit standard - Experience with car finance or consumer credit accounting — HP income recognition, IFRS 9 / ECL, and ideally SPV or securitisation structures — is a strong advantage - Comfortable passing on technical knowledge and coaching colleagues — the expectation is that you actively raise the team's technical capability, not just your own output Background & experience - Big 4 audit background is a plus, particularly with insurance or financial services clients — the ability to construct and evidence robust accounting positions is directly relevant to how this team engages with its auditors - Experience in a multi-entity group structure with consolidated reporting across UK GAAP / FRS 102 - Prior exposure to FCA-regulated or insurance-regulated environments is strongly preferred Data & systems - Advanced Excel; strong working knowledge of ERP systems — NetSuite experience is an advantage - Able to work with large and imperfect data sets; comfortable deriving well-supported conclusions where source data has gaps - Familiarity with BI tools such as Looker or Snowflake is useful but not required How you work - Takes ownership of complex, multi-workstream problems and sees them through independently — escalates selectively and with good judgement - Presents highly complex analysis clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences - Proactively identifies control risks and improvement opportunities rather than waiting to be directed - Comfortable in an environment where process maturity is still developing — building rigour is part of the job, not an obstacle to it PERKS & BENEFITS - Bonus scheme designed to reward high performance - Private medical insurance with Vitality, mental health support with Oliva - Personal learning budget and 2 dedicated L&D days a year - Monthly flexible benefits budget to spend as you choose - 25 days holiday plus bank holidays - 4 weeks Work From Anywhere per year We are in a position to offer sponsorship and/or a visa for this position OUR PROCESS Here's what to expect: 1. Intro call with our Talent team (30 mins) 2. Skills and experience interview the hiring manager (1 hour) 3. Task-based interview (1 hour) 4. Values and ways of working interview (1 hour) We review every application and will always let you know the outcome - though we're unable to provide individual feedback at application stage. Diversity of thought We know the best ideas come from having different perspectives in the room - and we're committed to hiring fairly, regardless of background, identity or experience. If you see yourself in this role, we'd encourage you to apply.