Group Accountant Stroud, England
Job description
This is an exciting opportunity to join Ecotricity Group’s finance function. We are seeking a Group Accountant to work closely with our Financial and Management Accountants in a newly created role. Responsibilities include consolidating accounts, revenue and capital accounting and process improvement. You will need to make strong accounting decisions, ensuring compliance with relevant accounting and where appropriate tax rules, as well as presenting high quality financial statements to the stakeholders of the business. This is a permanent hybrid working role.
Core Responsibilities
Ownership and control over the integrity of the consolidated financial statements of the group, preparing the monthly consolidation in the timescale required for inclusion in the Board pack
Develop best practice reconciliations between general ledger and external source information for all consolidation balances
Draft consolidated statutory accounts for the Group, ensuring they are accurate prior to the annual external audit. Liaise with auditors and provide feedback to the Financial and Management Accountants as required
Provide accounting advice as required to ensure items are treated in line with our financial reporting standards and to ensure consistency across the Group
Own the intercompany reconciliation and ensure fixes are enacted as required
Provide support for tax reporting and payment deadlines, including corporation tax and VAT
Take a lead in process improvement and efficiency regarding use of accounting systems
Improve revenue recognition and capital accounting policies and ensure correct application
Understand the group of company’s reserve balances and ensure they are optimised to meet investor requirements.
General Responsibilities
Ensure all issued reporting is robust, compliant, and consistent and that it supports both current activities and future growth requirements
Work with members of the Finance team in the development of the Management and Financial Accounting processes to drive best practice and embed professionalism
Help drive the transformation of our use of the finance system(s) for improving our reporting and identify opportunities to future proof our processes and controls
Proactively identify areas of improvement and work with others to implement and see these through to completion
Assist with other external reporting when required and support the sale of Ecotricity Group
Provide development opportunities to members of the team where there is scope for others to
Essential Skills & Expertise
Part or newly qualified Accountant (CIMA, ACA, ACCA etc)
Interest and understanding of how financial systems interact with each other
IT skills including MS Office suite, in particular Excel
Business process improvement mindset - to drive improvements in processes
Desirable (but not essential) Skills & Expertise
Understanding of FRS102
Tax accounting
Utilities sector experience
Advanced data skills: SQL, VBA, Power BI, Power Query
Key Behaviours/Competencies
Understanding the business
You will demonstrate an understanding of the business to make financial decisions.
You will have a questioning mind, not accepting of answers at face value, you will seek to obtain corroborating evidence for financial information.
You will manage high quantities of data, to make good and timely decisions.
You will show good financial analytical skills. Being able to interpret financial data to calculate the appropriate financial position.
Building collaborative relationships
You will develop relationships with other members of the business including more senior Management Accountants, finance business partners, key contacts in the business and other members of the finance team.
You will demonstrate confident communication and developing leadership skills. You will be able to show influence to the wider business for information or process change and influencing the team to develop best practice.
Performance & Results oriented
You will have a ‘can do’ attitude. Demonstrating persistence to work through complex problems.
You will have flexibility to deal with different finance issues across broad spectrum of tasks
You will hold yourself and others accountable to consistently achieve results.
What's in it for you...
Healthcare plan, life assurance and generous pension contribution
Volunteering day
Hybrid working
Various company discounts (including shops, days out and events)
Holiday of 25 days (plus bank holidays) & ability to buy/sell days
Cycle to work scheme, car pooling and onsite parking available
As a valued member of the team you will be supporting the Group Environmental policy and its associated targets to make the Green Britain Group net carbon neutral by 2025
Flexibility statement
The fast moving nature of the company's business means that from time to time you may be asked to perform duties or tasks outside of your original job description on an ad hoc basis. This allows the company to use it's people in the best possible way at all times and helps the employees to make make their contribution in a changing environment.
Ecotricity is Britain's greenest energy company. When we started back in 1995, we were the first company in the world to provide a new kind of electricity- the green kind.
Our mission was, and remains, to change the way energy is made and used in Britain- by replacing fossil fuels with clean, renewable energy.
We don't just supply green energy, we use the money from our customers' bills to make it ourselves too- we build windmills and sun parks in Britain. We call this 'bills in to mills'. In 2021, we started work on building two new solar parks, and now, in 2022, we're bringing geothermal energy to our customers' fuel mix, a first in the UK. We're also developing green gas mills which will generate 100% green gas from a source that we will never run out of- grass.
We don't just focus on energy though- we built Electric Highways, Britain's leading network of electric vehicle charging points, we helped Forest Green Rovers become the greenest football club in the world, and, in partnership with RSPB, we launched Britain's greenest mobile phone service, Ecotalk + RSPB.
Ecotricity is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to providing equality for all.
