Legal Entity Senior Accountant

Unite Students have an exciting opportunity for an experienced Legal Entity Senior Accountant to join our high performing Finance team in Bristol.

Reporting to the Group Consolidation Manager, the Legal Entity Senior Accountant leads a small team, with responsibilities broken down into two key areas:

• Planning, project management and production of the Group`s legal entity accounts to a high standard, working closely with internal and external stakeholders to ensure that accounts are produced and filed inline with an agreed timetable.
• Working on the longer-term strategy of rationalising legal entities across the Group: taking audit exemptions where appropriate and striking off entities that are no longer required.

This role is a key member of the Group Reporting leadership team, working on team strategy, culture and objectives across the team.

• You will own the planning and project management for the production of circa 350 legal entities across the Group (circa 100 subject to external audit). This will include
  • Initial scoping of all of the Group`s legal entities and ownership of critical control schedules.
  • Agreeing a timetable that works for all internal and external stakeholders (including external audit)
  • Delivering against that timetable, including a mixture of project managing, reviewing and completing legal entity accounts - drawing down on other resource within Group reporting as needed
• Over the medium term, you will identify entities that are not required within the Group structure, and work across the property, tax and legal teams to wind up these companies to simplify the year end process. Of the accounts that are required, you will work to minimise the number that are subject to statutory audit.
• Work closely with company secretariat to ensure that all the Group`s legal entity structure is complete and up to date - ensure that changes in the structure are accurately reflected in accounting records.
• Simplify intercompany trading relationships, reviewing and eliminating legacy intercompany balances, as well as working with the Company Secretariat team to ensure that distributable reserves are paid up the group structure.
• Ensure that intercompany balances (particularly at the top of the Group) are recoverable.
• You will own the legal entity adjustment ledger - ensuring that postings are complete and accurate, ensuring the ledger data relevant to the Group is moved into the Group result.
• Play an active part in supporting the Group`s change agenda, balancing resource between BAU and cross Group projects as required.
• Continuous improvement - using the technology available to improve processes and systems to reduce time / increase accuracy.
• Playing an active role in the implementation of new finance systems

• Professional Qualified Accountant with significant experience within a commercial and technical reporting environment
• Ability to work under pressure and deliver high quality reporting within tight deadlines
• Audit and Group financial statements experience within a large, listed environment - reporting under IFRS
• Up to date technical knowledge and ability to turn information into proposed accounting treatments
• Previous experience of managing and developing a team is a must
• An ability to understand complex group structures
• Excellent IT skills including advanced MS Excel knowledge (V-lookups, SUMIFS, pivots etc. at a minimum)
• Experience of working with Oracle, HFM and accounts production software, such as CCH would be a bonus

• A discretionary annual bonus so you can share in the company`s success
• 25 days` paid holiday and an annual holiday buying scheme, with 5 additional days awarded for long service
• A generous pension scheme - employer contributions between 5% and 11% depending on how much you save
• Various benefits to support your health and wellbeing including a Healthcare Cash Plan, an Employee Assistance Programme, a Wellbeing platform and a Gym benefit that you can share with your family and friends
• Enhanced Family Leave including 18 weeks full pay for birthing parents and 4 weeks for non-birthing parents
• Lots of other great benefits including an annual Share Save scheme, Employee Life Assurance, a discounts portal and more!

Founded in 1991, Unite Students is the UK`s leading provider of purpose-built student accommodation. You can find us in 23 leading university towns and cities, with 70,000 students calling US home! We are driven by our values, culture, and a commitment to develop diverse and inclusive teams, filled with positive energy and new ideas.

We know that to create and maintain a happy healthy organisation, we have to work hard to ensure inclusion isn`t just what we do but who we are.

Employees, students and neighbours all contribute to building environments where we can all thrive.

We`re proud to be an employer that embraces individuality, and we`re passionate about…