Role: Financial Accountant - 12 month FTC (Maternity cover) • Qualified by experience considered Location: Wythenshawe, Manchester | Hybrid working available (3 days office-based, 2 days working from home) Package: Competitive salary + excellent benefits package Role Purpose: To prepare and produce key reconciliations, journals and schedules monthly, with a special focus on managing and answering requests from statutory auditors, preparing financial statements, VAT and corporation tax. We are seeking a highly motivated and detail-oriented Financial Accountant to provide maternity cover within our SSC General Ledger Finance Team. The successful candidate will be responsible for ensuring the accuracy and integrity of the company's financial records, supporting month-end and year-end reporting processes, maintaining compliance with statutory and internal audit requirements. This role requires strong technical accounting skills, proven organisational and communication skills, excellent attention to detail, and the ability to work collaboratively across multiple departments. Main Duties and Responsibilities: Month End Reporting • Process and/or posting journals, documenting work for clear audit trail • Completing clear analysis work that feeds into the Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet • Ownership of balance sheet reconciliations for allocated entities with high quality information and narrative, with specific attention given to the age of unreconciled / unexplained items Audit and Year End Deliverables • Preparation of end-of-year financial statements in FRS102 Accounting Standard. • Ownership of managing external statutory audit requests and internal audit requests for multiple entities • Work alongside Finance Business Partners and other business unit personnel by sharing and/or requesting data, information and schedules • Ensure timely response to auditors keeping in sight important deadlines Tax Compliance • Ownership of quarterly group and individual VAT returns identifying and resolving reconciling differences to then be submitted and paid to HMRC in a timely manner. • Calculation of Corporation Tax Return calculations for IFRS quarterly reporting Group reporting • Assistance with Aged Receivable analysis by foreign currencies for IFRS quarterly reporting • Assistance with completing IFRS Quarterly Packages for group consolidation Payment Runs • Complete approvals of bank payments in line with P2P process Experience & Skills Required • Qualified and/or part-qualified accountant CIMA, ACA, ACCA, QBE (Qualified by experience considered). • Previous experience working within a similar role, preferably in a large/complex company or group of companies • Accountancy practice background candidates also considered • External audit experience • Essential • VAT experience • Essential • Experience with preparing high volume reconciliations & resolving differences, e.g. bank, VAT, AR/AP controls • High level of IT literacy, including advanced excel skills • Experience with group reconciliation reporting tool SAP desirable but not necessary (training provided) • Proven ability to organise, prioritise, manage and achieve deadlines • Excellent communication and teamwork skills • A strong work ethic, with a high level of accuracy and attention to detail • Internal audit experience preferable but not necessary What’s in it for you? • Competitive salary * 25 days holiday + 8 bank holidays with the option to buy or sell 5 holidays, plus an option to carry over 5 days • Combined pension contributions of up to 12% • Share in Success company bonus scheme • We recognise that overall business success is due to the contribution made by every employee • Flexible benefits scheme, to suit what is important to you including Life Cover, Private health care, Dental Care, GymFlex, Techscheme, Enhanced Maternity/Paternity policy, Give as You Earn scheme & Travel Insurance • Health and Wellbeing Support through; Mental Health First aiders, Employee Assistance programme & Smart Health services • Working for an Industry leading global Inspection company certified as a UK Top Employer for the last nine years in a row