Position title

Accounting Manager – Hemel Hempstead

Description

Accounting Manager – UK Arm of a US-Headquartered Distribution Group, Hemel Hempstead

Location: Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire (on site, with some flexibility)
Salary: £55,000 – £70,000 depending on experience, plus benefits
Type: Permanent, full time
Reports to: Group CFO (United States)
Reference: FDC-AM-HH-2607

The opportunity

A UK business acquired by an American parent group is building out its finance function as it integrates into a global reporting structure. The company has recently moved into a new, purpose-built headquarters in Hemel Hempstead and is scaling its operations off the back of that investment.

The Accounting Manager is the engine room of that process. You will run the UK close, produce the reporting pack that goes back to head office, and keep the stock ledger honest across a large and varied inventory. It is a role for an accountant who enjoys getting the detail right and seeing it flow through to a set of numbers people rely on.

Reporting is directly into the Group CFO in the United States, which means real visibility with senior management and the technical stretch of working to two reporting frameworks at once.

About the business

Our client is the UK operating company of a US-headquartered technical distribution group with facilities across North America, Latin America, Asia and Europe. The UK business holds significant inventory across a wide product range and supplies an international customer base to demanding service levels.

The wider group has grown through acquisition and continues to do so. The UK entity retains its own identity, its own team and its own trading relationships, but now operates within group financial standards and reporting timetables.

Responsibilities

What you will be responsible for

Running the UK month-end close and delivering the reporting pack to the US parent within the group timetable
Preparing the UK statutory financial statements and reconciling the local position to group reporting requirements
Inventory accounting across a large, high-value stockholding – valuation, landed cost, provisioning and stock integrity
Balance sheet reconciliations, control accounts and month-on-month analysis
Cash reporting, working capital and the multi-currency exposures arising from international purchasing and sales
VAT, customs and duty compliance on imported goods, and the wider UK compliance calendar
Supporting the annual audit and preparing the audit file
Day to day supervision of the transactional finance team
Working with operations and commercial colleagues on margin, stock turn and cost analysis

Qualifications

What we are looking for

Essential

Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA or CIMA), or qualified by experience with a demonstrably equivalent technical grounding
Solid month-end ownership in a company of comparable size – genuinely hands-on rather than purely supervisory
Inventory or stock accounting experience gained in distribution, wholesale or manufacturing
Comfortable preparing statutory accounts and supporting an external audit
Able to commute reliably to Hemel Hempstead and be present on site

Advantageous

Experience within a UK subsidiary of an overseas parent, particularly a US one
Exposure to US GAAP or to group reporting packs alongside local statutory reporting
Post-acquisition integration experience – harmonising systems, policies or reporting after a change of ownership
Import, customs and duty knowledge
ERP implementation or migration experience

The person this will suit

Someone who is comfortable working to an overseas reporting line several time zones away, and who is self-directing enough to keep the timetable moving without being chased. You will need to be well organised, precise, and confident holding a position with operational colleagues when the numbers say something they would rather they did not.

Job Benefits

Working pattern and package

This is an on-site role at the Hemel Hempstead headquarters, with a degree of flexibility available once established. Hemel sits at the junction of the M1 and M25 with a direct line into London Euston, making it accessible from across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and North London.

Salary is guided at £55,000 to £70,000 depending on experience, with the full benefits package confirmed at offer stage. The UK operation is growing and there is scope for the role to broaden with it.

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