Finance Manager – Project Accounting

St Helens | Hybrid working | £60,000–£70,000 + bonus + benefits

Bayman Atkinson Smythe has been retained by one of the UK’s fastest growing organisations to find the right person to lead its new Project Accounting function.

This newly established function will strengthen the way project performance is understood across the business. You’ll build reliable project accounting processes and information that help Commercial Finance and Operations make better-informed decisions and manage projects more effectively.

The opportunity

You’ll lead the day-to-day work of Project Accounting within Financial Control, overseeing project revenue recognition, month-end reporting and controls across a growing, international portfolio.

Working closely with Commercial Finance and Operations, you’ll assess the assumptions behind project performance, including percentage completion, estimate to complete, outturn and margin. You’ll be confident asking the right questions, challenging unsupported estimates and ensuring differences between project reporting and job cost reports are investigated and resolved.

As the function takes shape, you’ll help develop its team, processes and controls, while supporting the company’s evolving revenue policy. The role offers the chance to make a practical difference across finance and operational teams as the business continues to grow.

What you’ll do

Lead project accounting and month-end reporting, including gross margin at entity and consolidated level.
Oversee the Project Summary Report, project balance sheet reconciliations and the project position in the management accounts.
Apply percentage-completion revenue recognition consistently, with sound accounting for WIP, accrued and deferred revenue, retentions and provisions.
Reconcile project reporting to job cost reports and explain movements in project results and balances.
Work with Commercial Finance and Operations to test project assumptions and improve the quality of project information.
Maintain strong controls over project balances and support increasingly complex intercompany activity.
Help build the team and establish the processes and controls required for a growing project portfolio.
Contribute to changes in company revenue policy, including the updated FRS 102 requirements and, in due course, IFRS 15.

What you’ll bring

A recognised accountancy qualification, such as ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent, and typically five or more years’ post-qualification experience.
Strong project or contract accounting experience in engineering, construction, infrastructure or a related business delivering complex, multi-year contracts. Experience with projects generating £10m+ revenue would be valuable.
A thorough understanding of percentage-completion revenue recognition and project contract balances.
Strong knowledge of FRS 102; familiarity with IFRS 15 would be an advantage.
The ability to review job cost reports and test the assumptions behind project forecasts and margins.
Experience producing multi-entity management accounts, ideally in an international or multi-currency environment.
Experience managing a team or building finance processes and controls.
Strong ERP, project costing systems and Excel skills. NetSuite and ProScope experience would be useful.
Confidence working with senior non-finance colleagues and constructively challenging commercial assumptions

You’ll join a business in a dynamic sector with significant growth plans and the opportunity to shape a new function. The role combines hands-on project accounting leadership with the chance to improve how project information supports decisions across Commercial Finance and Operations.

Interested? Contact Alison Atkinson at Bayman Atkinson Smythe for more information or a confidential conversation.

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