Senior Accountant

Informa is a leading academic publishing, business intelligence, knowledge, and events business, creating unique content and connectivity for customers all over the world. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE 100.

Taylor & Francis is one of the world’s largest publishers of high-quality, peer reviewed scholarly journals, books, e-books and reference works.

We empower learners, thinkers and doers with trusted knowledge that advances research and enriches lives. We bring together diverse people, ideas and opinions to validate and publish the experts, theories and truths that matter. And we’ve been doing this in an unbroken arc since 1798.

Our purpose is to foster human progress through knowledge. We strongly believe that this requires us to encourage and examine different ideas and voices, so that any work that meets our exacting levels of quality deserves to be included in our publications.

This requires open minds, the opportunity for robust debate, and the courage to defend perspectives that stand up to scrutiny, even if they conflict with our personal beliefs or values. Because that’s the only way to find the best obtainable version of the truth and, ultimately, foster human progress.

If you agree, then we’d love to hear from you.

Reporting into the Financial Controller EMEA this is a key operational role which is accountable for delivering an accurate, high value consistent accounting service. You will lead a team within the Global Accounting function providing leadership and guidance to ensure your team delivers excellent accounting service to the business driving balance sheet integrity. You will be a high performing individual that embraces and drives change management processes whilst showing effective collaboration with your team and business counterparties. You will also ensure that all company policies are adhered to and that specific duties are carried out within set time limits whilst providing an excellent level of service to all Informa customers and colleagues.

This role will be based predominantly from home in the UK, with regular travel (approx. 1-2 days per week) to our office in Colchester and occasional travel to our offices in Blackfriars, London, or Milton Park, Oxfordshire.  You must have the right to live and work in the UK.

Closing date for applications: 26th April 2024.

The Senior Accountant is expected to assume the following key responsibilities plus any other reasonable duties as required:

• Responsible for the monthly close process of the Management Accounts; Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet. Details include; Reconciliations, Accruals, Allocations, Revenue downloads, Pre-payments, Variance Analysis and commentary in accordance with the published timetable
• Responsible for maintaining compliance with control policy and procedures within the Global Accounting team
• Ensure Balance Sheet reconciliations are completed in accordance with Balance Sheet Integrity guidelines and control frameworks
• Ensure that issues are escalated as appropriate to your Financial Controller in a timely manner.
• Responsible for Financial Reporting and Analysis including Group reporting, supplementary packs and ad-hoc requests
• Lead a team of accounting professionals (with direct line management), ensuring that planning and prioritisation of work within the team is enough to maintain and improve team’s performance.
• Publish financial results in the relevant finance systems
• Ensure communications are handled between the SSO, Group finance and the Business Teams
• To be involved with any acquisition integration/due diligence
• Working on projects including key process testing & systems
• Working with internal and external auditors
• Analyse and solve Ad-hoc problems using knowledge of business and systems
• Embrace change and continuously seek out improvements

Leadership:

• Ensure that appropriate People Development tools are utilised throughout your team consistently and fairly to ensure optimum performance of all colleagues concentrating on both technical and soft skill development in conjunction with local HR colleagues
• Ensure that planning and prioritisation of work within the team is enough to maintain and improve performance metrics
• Encourage an environment in which people value diversity either in recruitment, team formation and/or in developing plans and strategies.
• Bring team members into discussions so that they can contribute their ideas, are involved in setting team objectives and feel engaged on issues that affect them.
• Support, assist and cover team members where necessary

Qualifications & Experience

• Strong academic background
• A qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA or CIMA) with experience of leading an R2R team within a large finance function
• Excellent knowledge and understanding of all R2R processes including best practice in R2R, people, processes and technology
• Confident in how to lead and guide a team through challenging periods.
• Be able to manage competing priorities and achieving deadlines, whilst delivering a high standard of work and supporting the team as and when needed.
• Solid at building relationships with stakeholders within and outside of the organisation.
• Evidence of making decisions at the right time based on the information available.
• Strong people manager who actively engages and embraces talent management conversations.
• Good presentation skills

Skills & Abilities

• Good communication skills with the ability to build good relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, internal departments and key contacts
• Proficient skills in Excel, Word and Outlook are essential, and SAP experience is desirable
• Remain approachable under pressure
• Act with integrity, tact and diplomacy
• Work as part of a team
• Ability to complete a variety of related tasks
• Pro-actively solve problems
• Excellent Customer Service skills
• Good time management skills
• Ability to be flexible within role
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Organised, diligent with attention to detail

This role will be based predominantly from home in the UK, with regular travel (approx. 1-2 days per week) to our office in Colchester and occasional travel to our offices in Blackfriars, London, or Milton Park, Oxfordshire.  You must have the right to live and work in the UK.

Closing date for applications: 26th April 2024.

What we offer in return:

• An excellent work/life balance with a fantastic, flexible working culture.  
• 25 days annual leave per year 
• 3 additional discretionary days off during the holiday season at the end of the year  
• 4 paid volunteering days each year 
• Employee assistance programme – offering 24/7 well-being support  
• Bonus and commission (if applicable) 
• Share Match – Plan that matches every share purchased with two free shares. 
• Pension scheme  
• Life assurance, plus optical and medical care.  

At Taylor & Francis we care about our colleagues, promoting work-life balance, wellbeing, and flexible working. You will be joining a thriving business, working alongside an exceptional group of people. We believe that the skills and experience you bring to Taylor & Francis are invaluable. We want you to have the opportunity to develop your abilities, and to innovate and develop in areas which you are passionate about.  

Training And Professional Development: 

We’re passionate about ensuring you have all the tools and resources at your fingertips to reach your short and long-term career goals. We’ll support you in your journey by working together on your own bespoke Taylor & Francis Development Plan, ensuring you have the resources, tools, support, and coaching that will get you where you want to be. 

Interview process: 

Once you have submitted your application, we may get in touch with you for an initial screening conversation or ask you to complete a short video interview to enable us to better understand your skills, experience, and motivation. Following this, you will be invited to attend a competency-based interview, either virtually or in person. Typically, we’d then finish the interview process with a final, 2nd stage interview before extending an offer to the successful applicant.  

Taylor & Francis Group an Informa Business 

We want all our candidates to shine in our recruitment process. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to ensure you are able to show us your best self. This could include having the application form in a different format, more time for questions, or anything else – please ask us, we are happy to be flexible! Please contact [email protected]   

Being Yourself at Taylor & Francis 

If you’re excited about working with Taylor & Francis to foster human progress through knowledge, we invite you to apply even if your existing skills and experience don’t fit every item listed above. At Taylor & Francis, we are at our best and most successful when colleagues can be themselves and contribute regardless of their identity or background. As a colleague, you will have the opportunity to further innovate and develop in areas that you are passionate about. Our goal is to empower you with the resources, incentives, and flexibility you need to enjoy success at work and to live a healthy, balanced life. 

Taylor & Francis is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe in and value diversity of people and thought, fostering a supportive and inclusive environment where all colleagues can learn and succeed as their true selves. Taylor & Francis recruits, develops, and retains colleagues without regard to any protected personal characteristics or other non-merit-based factor. 

We genuinely care about our colleagues, promoting work-life balance, wellbeing, and flexible working. We believe that the skills and experience you bring to Taylor & Francis are invaluable. We want you to have the opportunity to develop your abilities, and to innovate and develop in areas which you are passionate about. To find out more about our business and the great career opportunities please go to our Careers Site:   

Or better yet check out our LinkedIn ‘Life’ Page, highlighting our accomplishments, employees, and company culture. It’s also a good way of meeting our recruitment team, who will be happy to advise you on your journey here at T&F.