Group Financial Accountant

As a Group Financial Accountant, your main responsibilities will include ensuring all subsidiary companies comply with relevant accounting standards and regulatory requirements. You will oversee annual audits and produce consolidated financial reports, guaranteeing adherence to IFRS and UK GAAP. Additionally, you'll monitor internal financial controls, provide technical accounting advice, and manage schedules for acquisition accounting, ensuring proper consolidation into group financial reports.

To qualify for the Group Financial Accountant role at our company, you must hold a valid ACA or ACCA qualification. Experience in technical accounting, consolidation, and acquisition accounting is essential, along with advanced skills in Excel. Knowledge of relevant accounting standards, such as UK GAAP and IFRS, and familiarity with tax legislation further enhance your application.

Success as a Group Financial Accountant involves a strong attention to detail, advanced Excel proficiency, and the ability to work under pressure to meet tight deadlines. You'll also benefit from excellent communication skills to build relationships across the group and the diligence required to deliver high-quality work efficiently.

Our company values its employees and offers a range of benefits to Group Financial Accountants, including enhanced maternity and paternity pay, occupational sick pay, a contributory pension scheme, and employee discounts on health services. We also provide a hybrid working model post-training, mental health support, social events, and professional development opportunities to enhance your career.

Our work environment fosters a culture of collaboration and support. As a Group Financial Accountant, you will be part of a professional team that values a positive, open, and honest atmosphere. You'll have the opportunity to engage with leadership while contributing significantly to achieving our mission of providing exceptional patient care. We also prioritize work-life balance through flexible working arrangements.

In response, detail your specific experience with preparing consolidated financial statements under IFRS or UK GAAP. Highlight any unique challenges you faced and how you overcame them, emphasizing your diligence in ensuring accuracy and compliance.

Talk about your methods for staying current, like participating in trainings, following industry news, or using professional resources. Share how you’ve adapted your practices in the past to ensure compliance with new regulations.

Explain your auditing process, which may involve gathering necessary documentation, coordinating with external auditors, and reviewing financial statements for accuracy. Mention any tools or systems you use to facilitate the audit process.

Discuss your time management strategies, such as prioritizing tasks, creating schedules, and communicating with team members to streamline workflows. Provide a specific example of how you successfully met a tight deadline in the past.

Emphasize that internal financial controls play a vital role in ensuring accuracy and preventing fraud. Discuss techniques you’ve used to strengthen controls and how you've monitored compliance in previous roles.

Identify specific advanced functions like pivot tables, VLOOKUP, or macros that you employ in your work. Provide examples of how these functions have helped you analyze data or streamline reporting processes.

Choose a specific challenge you've faced, detailing both the problem and the solution you implemented. Highlight any collaboration with others or research you undertook to achieve a successful resolution.

Share your approach to relationship-building, such as regular communication, being approachable, and being open to feedback. Mention specific instances where rapport facilitated teamwork or communication.

Outline the key steps involved in acquisition accounting, such as evaluating the financial position of the acquired entity, ensuring accurate consolidation, and communicating with relevant stakeholders. Share any relevant experience to reinforce your answer.

Talk about your process for investigating discrepancies, including your steps for identifying the source of the error and your approach to rectifying it. Highlight the importance of transparency in addressing financial issues.