Senior Management Accountant

Job Description

We have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Management Accountant to join our Belfast Financial Control team. Our business has grown significantly in the last few years, not least from May 2024 when Allen & Overy merged with Shearman and Sterling. It is a dynamic, challenging and rewarding team to build a career in.

The Belfast Finance department provides services to the A&O Shearman network of offices covering management and financial accounting & reporting, revenue control (includes eBilling), credit control, accounts payable and tax. Offices currently served are London, Belfast, US, Middle East, Israel, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and Spain.

There is a strong client service ethic and we work to Service Level Agreements, targets and deadlines to deliver in line with client expectations.

What you will do

• Responsible for reviewing internal management accounting & reporting which supports several offices across the US, the Netherlands and the Middle East regions;
• Responsible for detailed review of monthly P&L, BS reporting to CFOs and senior stakeholders.
• Prioritise work effectively, making realistic compromises when necessary in order to deliver;
• Support the annual financial audit process, providing accurate information to the auditors in a timely manner and execute the annual budgetary/forecasting process;
• Assist the wider Financial Control team to develop practical solutions to improve the service and undertake value added activities;
• Ensure that financial data is accurately captured in the financial and forecasting systems;
• Become a trusted advisor to budget holders, business managers and key members of other finance teams, having the ability to present technical information in a way that is easily understood by a non-specialist audience;
• Provide support on business improvement projects that are required to improve the quality of output from the overall group;
• Help mentor more junior members of the Management Accounting team, particularly assisting with developing part-qualified accountants' technical knowledge;
• Build strong, trusting relationships with the customer (Financial Controllers, CFOs), and provide constructive feedback regarding issues and problems encountered while delivering the service; and
• Anticipate the needs of the customer and provide timely solutions and opinions on complex matters;

What you will have

• Fully qualified membership of a Professional Accountancy body;
• Three years' experience in an accounting role, including detailed review of the work of junior accounting staff for both technical knowledge and accuracy;
• Excellent numeracy and literacy skills;
• Great organisational skills, ability to make progress in a range of areas whilst staying on top of deadlines;
• Strong communication skills, comfortable presenting information to senior stakeholders including colleagues based internationally, and also tailoring conversations as needed to non-financially orientated teams;
• Ability to apply technical knowledge and understanding, and identify creative solutions to issues;
• Computer literacy with strong Microsoft Office skills and direct experience of complex finance systems, including multicurrency general ledger systems;
• As this role is the Senior Management Accountant involved with offices based in the US and Canada there is a requirement to work partial US hours (12pm to 8:30pm GMT) twice per week (Monday to Thursday), with recognised Premium Hours Payment.

What we can offer you

We recognise that our people are our most valuable asset, which is reflected in the wide range of benefits that are available to our employees. Some of these benefits include: our occupational pension scheme, group income protection cover, private medical insurance, mental health resources and free apps, health and wellbeing services encompassing GP service, emergency back-up care support, parental and special leave, online discounts and lifestyle management services.

We recognise the value of flexible working and embrace hybrid working, allowing our people to work from home up to 40% of their working time. We do, however, remain committed to working together in person for the remaining 60% of time so that we can learn, grow and succeed together.

Should you require additional support at any stage of the recruitment process due to a disability or a health condition, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our recruitment team who will work with you to provide any adjustments as required.

We are an equal opportunities recruiter and do not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or any other protected characteristic.

If this role is not of interest we may have another suitable opportunity here for you at A&O Shearman! Visit our careers portal at A&O Shearman Careers and submit your CV to our Talent Network to be notified when the perfect opportunity becomes available.