Interim Senior Group Accountant

Collinson is the global, privately-owned company dedicated to helping the world to travel with ease and confidence. The group offers a unique blend of industry and sector specialists who together provide market-leading airport experiences, loyalty and customer engagement, and insurance solutions for over 400 million consumers. Collinson is the operator of Priority Pass, the world’s original and leading airport experiences programme. Travellers can access a network of 1,500+ lounges and travel experiences, including dining, retail, sleep and spa, in over 650 airports in 148 countries, helping to elevate the journey into something special. We work with the world’s leading payment networks, over 1,400 banks, 90 airlines and 20 hotel groups worldwide. We have been bringing innovation to the market since inception – from launching the first independent global VIP lounge access Programme, Priority Pass to being the first to sell direct travel insurance in the UK through Columbus Direct and creating the first loyalty agency of its kind in the travel sector with ICLP. Today we still invest heavily in innovation to ensure that we continue to deliver superior customer experiences. Key clients include Mastercard, American Express, Cathay Pacific, British Airways, LATAM, Flying Blue, Accor, EasyJet, HSBC, Chase, HDFC. Our mission is focused on doing good beyond profit, which for us means we seek out opportunities for our people to share in our success and that we give back to the communities and people within which we work. Never short of ambition, the success of our business is delivered through the diverse and talented team of over 2,200 global colleagues.

Purpose of the role

The Group Reporting Team plays a critical role in providing robust financial information and driving ongoing enhancements to financial reporting processes. As part of the Group Reporting Team, you will be involved in providing accurate and insightful consolidated reporting and acting as a technical accounting specialist to support global finance teams applying FRS102 and Group accounting policies to complex accounting areas. You will also contribute to the ongoing enhancement and embedding of the Group accounting policies across the Group. In addition, as part of the drive to enhance global financial controls, you will support on the development and embedding of financial control policies across the Group. The role is a 6-9 month contract position and combines a requirement for strong technical accounting knowledge with good communication skills and an aptitude for complex computations. The ability to demonstrate initiative, strong analytical skills, attention to detail and to prioritise effectively are also key to the role. Collinson is a dynamic business, undergoing a period of significant transformation, and the role will support on related projects.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provision of application guidance on FRS 102 amendments relating to revenue and lease accounting to ensure effective implementation into business-as-usual processes and ongoing compliance;
• Review and challenge of monthly and annual submissions from global subsidiary companies to ensure compliance with FRS102 and Group accounting policies;
• Delivery of Consolidated primary statements (Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Cashflow) and internal reporting;
• Delivery of consolidated disclosures and supporting audit evidence for FRS102 consolidated statutory reporting.

Finance Projects:

• Ongoing maintenance and enhancement of the suite of Group accounting policies, ensuring alignment with FRS102, and provision of application guidance to global finance teams for complex accounting areas and transactions;
• Ongoing maintenance and enhancement of the Group financial control policies to ensure these remain relevant and adhered to throughout the Group;
• Support on embedding and monitoring adherence to minimum control framework, and support on application and best practice to global finance teams;
• Contributing to training on Group policies to global finance teams;
• As Collinson is a dynamic business, and currently undergoing a period of significant transformation, the role will be involved in other ad-hoc finance projects as these arise.

Knowledge, skills & experience required

The successful applicant will ideally have a recognised accountancy qualification (ACCA/ACA or overseas equivalent) and have 6-10 years PQE with demonstrable experience in year-end group consolidation processes and preparation of statutory accounts under FRS102. Knowledge/experience of complex multi-currency consolidations Technically strong with working knowledge of FRS 102, specifically leases and revenue recognition Knowledge and experience in control frameworks Strong analytical skills and an eye for detail Strong communication skills and ability to maintain good working relationships with global subsidiary finance teams Able to prioritise effectively and ability to handle multiple tasks Ability to work as part of a team and be collaborative Experience on financial consolidation system preferred but not essential Proficient in Excel, PowerPoint and Word

Collinson is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes differences in all their forms including: colour, race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, neurodivergence, family status, age, individuals with disabilities and people from all backgrounds, cultures and experiences as we strongly believe this contributes to our on-going success. We are focused on continually evolving our purpose driven, high performing culture, providing an environment where our people have the opportunity to achieve their full potential and do interesting and meaningful work. Our company values are: Take Action, Do the right thing, One team and Be insight led. These help guide everything we do internally in terms of how we think, act and interact, right through to how we deliver value to our customers and clients. In your application, please feel free to note which pronouns you use (For example - she/her/hers, he/him/his, they/them/theirs, etc). If you need any extra support throughout the interview process, then please email us at ukrecruitment@collinsongroup.com