Management Accountant
Job description
Original text imported from Reed
Your New Company:
We are supporting a well-established, highly reputable engineering and manufacturing business now part of a larger international group. Operating at the forefront of its sector, the business has a strong heritage of innovation and quality and is currently entering an exciting phase of growth and transformation as part of a global organisation.This is a fantastic opportunity for a recently qualified Management Accountant to join the finance team at a pivotal time, contributing to both day-to-day financial operations and wider business initiatives.
Your New Role:
Reporting directly to the Financial Controller, you will join an established team of three, becoming a key member of a collaborative finance function. This is a hands-on, fast-paced role, ideal for someone who thrives in a dynamic environment and enjoys driving improvements and adding value.Key responsibilities will include:
- Preparation of monthly management accounts, including variance analysis
- Supporting budgeting and forecasting processes
- Balance sheet reconciliations and financial controls
- Supporting month-end and year-end close processes
- Partnering with operational teams to provide financial insight
- Identifying process improvements and driving efficiencies
- Supporting compliance and audit activity (including SOX where applicable)
What you'll need to succeed
- Recently qualified (ACA / ACCA / CIMA or equivalent)
- Strong grounding in management accounting principles
- Advanced Excel skills (essential)
- Experience using ERP Systems - SAP (highly desirable)
- Understanding of SOX controls (advantageous but not essential)
- Proactive, hands-on approach with a solution-focused mindset
- Strong communication skills and ability to work cross-functionally
- Comfortable working in a fast-paced, evolving environment
- Experience working within an international business or supporting global markets (ideal not essential)
What you'll get in return
- Join a business with a strong reputation and global backing
- Be part of an exciting growth journey
- Work within a supportive and collaborative finance team
- Opportunity to make a tangible impact and drive improvements
- Competitive salary and bonus package
What you need to do now
If you're interested in this role, click 'apply now' to forward an up-to-date copy of your CV, or call us now.
If this job isn't quite right for you, but you are looking for a new position, please contact us for a confidential discussion about your career.
Hays Specialist Recruitment Limited acts as an employment agency for permanent recruitment and employment business for the supply of temporary workers. By applying for this job you accept the T&C's, Privacy Policy and Disclaimers which can be found at hays.co.uk
Key skills
AI-extracted from the job advert
Application advice
5 AI-generated recommendations to maximise your chances.
⭐ Lead your CV personal statement with your ACA/ACCA/CIMA qualification status — the advert explicitly requires 'recently qualified' and lists this first in the requirements section.
📊 Quantify your management accounts experience: e.g. 'Prepared monthly management accounts for a £40M turnover business, delivering variance analysis across 6 cost centres within a 3-day close cycle'.
🔧 Dedicate a 'Key Systems' section to SAP and Advanced Excel — SAP is flagged as 'highly desirable' and Excel as 'essential', so make both prominent rather than burying them in job descriptions.
🌐 If you have experience in an international or group-structure business, call this out explicitly in your role summaries — the advert references a global organisation and supporting global markets as an ideal background.
🎯 Include a bullet on SOX controls in any relevant role, even if limited — the advert lists it as advantageous and many candidates will omit it entirely, giving you a differentiator.
Suggested CV bullets
3 bullets our AI drafted for this specific advert, mirroring its ATS keywords.
Add these 3 bullets under your most recent experience:
- •Prepared monthly management accounts for a £35M turnover manufacturing division, delivering P&L commentary and variance analysis across 8 cost centres within a 4-day close cycle.
- •Led balance sheet reconciliation process across 12 nominal codes, reducing unreconciled items by 74% over two quarters through root-cause analysis and process redesign.
- •Supported SOX control documentation and testing across 3 financial reporting cycles, ensuring zero audit findings across key controls in collaboration with the external audit team.
Free to copy — tailoring requires a 30-sec CV upload.
Your cover letter is ready
We've drafted a cover letter for Hays Specialist Recruitment Limited. Preview the opening, then unlock the full personalised version.
Letter preview — tailored to Hays Specialist Recruitment Limited
Dear Hiring Manager,
Having recently qualified with CIMA and built hands-on experience in management accounts preparation, variance analysis, and balance sheet reconciliations, I was immediately drawn to the Management Accountant position at your Leicestershire-based engineering and manufacturing business. The combination of a global group structure and a finance team at a genuine inflection point is precisely the environment in which I want to develop.
My background in management accounting within a manufacturing setting has equipped me with a strong grounding in month-end close processes, budgeting and forecasting cycles, and cross-functional business partnering with operational teams. I have worked extensively with Advanced Excel for financial modelling and reporting, and have supported ERP-based reporting workflows, including exposure to SAP. I am also familiar with the principles of SOX controls from supporting internal audit activity in my current role.
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Interview questions
10 questions generated from this advert.
Technical
- ›Walk me through your month-end close process — how do you ensure accuracy and meet deadlines?
- ›How have you used SAP to support management reporting or financial controls?
- ›Describe your experience with SOX controls — what documentation or testing have you been involved in?
- ›How do you approach a balance sheet reconciliation where you identify an unexplained variance?
- ›What Excel techniques do you rely on most for management accounts preparation — pivot tables, Power Query, macros?
Behavioural
- ›Tell me about a time you identified a process inefficiency in a finance function and drove an improvement.
- ›Describe a situation where you had to explain complex financial data to a non-finance operational stakeholder.
- ›Give an example of when you had to manage competing month-end priorities under time pressure.
- ›Tell me about a time you worked within a larger group or international structure — how did you manage reporting requirements across different entities?
- ›Describe a situation where you proactively flagged a financial risk or control weakness before it became a problem.
STAR answer examples
Model answers using the Situation-Task-Action-Result framework. Adapt to your own experience.
Tell me about a time you identified a process inefficiency in a finance function and drove an improvement.
Describe a situation where you had to explain complex financial data to a non-finance operational stakeholder.