Overview of role

The Central Finance Accountant plays a key role within our central finance team, this role is responsible for leading period-end close activities, delivering high-quality financial reporting, and driving robust planning, forecasting, and control across overhead cost centres. 

Key Accountabilities

Overhead Analysis and Reporting:
•    Lead and take full ownership of the period end process for overhead cost centres (Labour and Non-Labour), preparation and posting of journals, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and adherence to deadlines.
•    Collaborate with the Shared Service Centre to ensure accruals and prepayments are accurate and well controlled.
•    Own the preparation and review of balance sheet reconciliations, ensuring strong control, integrity, and prompt clearance of reconciling items.
•    Deliver accurate, high quality and insightful management information to budget holders, including detailed variance analysis and clear focused commentary.
•    Act as a trusted business partner to budget holders, providing challenge, insight, and support in understanding financial performance.
•    Oversee and control intercompany recharges, ensuring accuracy, transparency, and compliance with approval frameworks.

Budgeting and Forecasting:
•    Lead the end to end budgeting and forecasting process for overhead cost centres, setting clear timelines and ensuring high-quality outputs. 
•    Provide robust challenge and insight to assumptions, ensuring forecasts are realistic, data-driven, and aligned to strategic objectives. 

Other:
•    Review and provide oversight of GRNI reconciliations, ensuring risks are identified and resolved in a timely manner.
•    Take ownership of the timetable, review, analysis, and calculation of PSA, ensuring compliance with relevant regulations and internal policies.
•    Ensure accurate and timely completion of ONS surveys and other statutory or regulatory requirements. 
•    Drive continuous improvement initiatives across finance processes, identifying opportunities to enhance efficiency, automation, and control. 
•    Work closely with the Finance Manager to strengthen financial policies, procedures, and documentation, enhancing governance and reporting quality.
•    Ensure compliance with internal financial controls and procedures to uphold financial integrity.
•    Lead or contribute to ad-hoc projects, analysis, and strategic initiatives as required.

The Right Person

If you share our values... 

Be Bold: Comfortable speaking up when there’s a better way to do things, confident enough to actively contribute to discussions
Be Curious: Asks questions to understand why processes operate the way they do, explores different stakeholder needs
Do the Right Thing Together: works collaboratively with the rest of the team to ensure compliance with internal and external financial and legal requirements
Make It Happen: finds new ways to improve control effectiveness and efficiency 

We can offer.... 

Competitive salary
Up to 10% bonus
Private Healthcare Cover - Single Bupa  
Pension Scheme – up to 10% employer contributions
Hybrid & Flexible work culture 
Buy holiday scheme    
Discounted products 
Health Cash Plan
Career opportunities - ABF group employs 128,000 employees worldwide. 
Discounts on over 900 retailers on our discount platform  
Group Cycle to work scheme