Management Accountant required for exceptional Surrey Independent school
CIMA/ACCA/ACA qualified accountant - any sector considered
Client Details
I am pleased to be exclusively partnering with St George's Weybridge, a leading independent co-educational Catholic day school in Surrey for girls and boys aged 2-18.
Reporting into the Director of Finance, the Management Accountant will lead a team of 4 staff and will have the opportunity to influence this role.
Description
- Oversee the day-to-day running and activities of the Finance team, managing workload of the other Finance team members and ensuring that work is completed on time, accurately and that all reporting deadlines are met.
- Oversee electronic archiving and control the information on the Accounts drive.
- Ensure all staff work within the Finance Policies and Procedures as set by the Board of Governors.
- Act as the first point of contact for the Finance team on technical accounting matters.
- Together with the Director of Finance, support the continued development of the careers of other members of the Finance team by providing day-to-day support, training and opportunities for development within their roles.
- Arrange personal development reviews (appraisals) and appropriate external training when necessary.
- Seek opportunities for driving efficiencies into existing processes by supporting and identifying initiatives to increase automation and the use of technology to support the finance processes.
- Produce an accurate and timely management accounts pack from Sage and present to the Director of Finance each month, including forecasting. Provide a more in-depth analysis of the November, March and July accounts that are presented to the Board of Governors and other stakeholders.
- Keep forecasts up-to-date and highlight any issues that could give rise to changes in forecasts on a timely basis.
- Support the Director of Finance in the compilation of the overall School budget for presentation to Governors. Liaise with budget holders to review their budget submissions and provide advice to them on the accurate preparation of their budgets.
- Provide budget tracking with ongoing support and guidance to budget holders. Be the first point of contact for budget holders in respect of any budget vs actual queries.
- Manage the process of preparing all the required paperwork for inspection by the auditors each year, usually in October. Ensure all nominal accounts are reconciled and discrepancies dealt with. Be the first point of contact for the audit team in respect of the audit process.
- Manage the fixed asset module and ensure depreciation has been posted to Sage before month end procedure. Liaise with key stakeholders and provide reporting assistance where required.
- Support the Director of Finance in the capex budgeting process, including the capital bids process. Ensure that the appropriate accounting treatment is adopted for fixed assets such that costs are correctly shown as capital or expenses.
- Oversee the process of daily posting of bank transactions by the Finance Assistants, ensuring that all transactions are correctly recorded in Sage 200 and that bank reconciliations are prepared for review by the Management Accountant on a timely basis at each month end, or more regularly if required.
- Regular review of direct debit instructions and standing orders.
- Support the Director of Finance in ensuring that bank mandates are kept up-to-date and ensuring that the controls are aligned to the Financial Control Procedures.
Profile
- Professional financial qualification as expected for a Management Accountant role such as CIMA or ACCA
- Previous experience of finance work in education, preferably within the independent sector
- Sage 200 Accounting program or similar
- Understanding of charitable accounting and legislation
- Understanding of the requirements of GDPR and relevant financial legislation
- A full understanding and experience of preparation, execution and presentation of management accounts to key stakeholders
- Management experience
- An understanding and appreciation of the Catholic school environment, combined with an interest in the independent school sector
- Commitment to the provision of a quality service and a high level of customer care
Job Offer
Hybrid working
Pension - employer contribution 10% and employee contribution 5%
Free parking
Free meals
50% school fee remission
Life & personal accident insurance
Medical support and employee assistance programmes