Project Accountant

M&C Saatchi UK is seeking a Project Accountant to join our dynamic team. As a Project Accountant, you will work closely with project leads, business leads, and operational managers, providing financial guidance and support to ensure the success of our projects. Your role will involve monitoring project budgets, managing revenue forecasts, maintaining robust financial reporting, and managing client and supplier contracts.

What you'll do:

1. Business Partner to project leads (BDs/SADs) and helping them to manage their project finances (e.g. assist management of project budget sheets to ensure margins are in line with forecasted and that 3rd party expenditure is line with budgeted spend, assisting with client queries).
2. Lead monthly revenue meetings with Business leads - monthly reporting / new business pipeline - supported by Head of Finance.
3. Finalising month-end revenue and full year revenue forecast.
4. Establishment of close working relationships with client project teams and internal operational managers, supporting them with any day-to-day finance questions.
5. Tracking projects to determine whether they achieve their desired financial, business, and technical objectives. Providing explanation where this is not the case.
6. Ensuring robust financial reporting is in place across your portfolio of projects to record and report as to the success of their delivery against specific client requirements.
7. Ensure project trackers are up to date for month-end revenue recognition and effectively challenge where project phasing doesn't look realistic or is not in line with the contract.
8. Work with the Project Team to optimise how they are using their budget sheets and ensure that they have been effectively trained.
9. Working with the relevant finance project leads to ensure that billing is being chased up on a regular basis and that the invoices are being paid in line with client payment terms.
10. Improve financial processes and utilisation of the accounting system (NetSuite).
11. Help enforce the importance of timesheets and monitor weekly completion.
12. Identification and mitigation of project risks.
13. Review and develop new business proposals from a financial and compliance perspective. Support project tenders across the business.
14. Client and supplier contract reviews.
15. Work on adhoc projects and assist the HoF and FD with analysis.
16. Ability and willingness to be hands on and help out on tasks that may not be within the remit of the job including any client financial reporting or internal group reporting.
17. Finance training with new joiners (covering Netsuite, timesheets, POs, supplier processes etc).
18. Regular reconciliation and system closures of completed projects. (WIP)
19. Post journals as required in the system.
20. Assist with the annual audit.

What you'll bring:

1. Previous experience in revenue accounting.
2. Qualified/Part-qualified accountant (ideal but not essential).
3. Strong technical skills.
4. Understanding of revenue recognition & WIP management.
5. Ability to communicate with senior business members.
6. Self-starter; able to work independently and as part of a team.
7. Strong attention to detail.

About M&C Saatchi UK
This role sits within the M&C Saatchi London division of the M&C Saatchi Group. Although we share our group's vision, our personal mission is to "create work that is talked about all over the world", ensuring we place the customer firmly at the heart of our communications, and we use this ethos in all our advertising from Brand TV through to CRM programmes.

As an agency, we are guided by two core philosophies that are central to everything we do and everything we are:

• Brutal Simplicity of Thought - experts at understanding complex categories and businesses and finding a simple, effective way through.
• Diversity of Thought - we know that when we do this, we are more creative.

Essentially, we get to the heart of business problems; whether that's taking pressure off the NHS when emergency rooms are way past capacity or using rewards to drive ATV for Costa coffee. Using brilliant creative and sharp strategy, we help brands across a range of sectors and specialisms realise their ambitions.

About M&C Saatchi Group
M&C Saatchi Group is a creative company that connects specialist expertise, fuelled by data, technology, and culture, to help clients navigate, create, and lead meaningful change. The Group operates across five core divisions: Connected Creativity; Passion Marketing; Global & Social Issues; Brand, Experience & Innovation; and Performance Media. Headquartered in London, operations span 23 countries with major hubs in the UK, Europe, US, Middle East & Africa, Asia, and Australia. M&C Saatchi Group's two principles, Diversity of Thought and Brutal Simplicity of Thought, guide how they build teams and solve problems.

The M&C Saatchi Group UK has pledged its commitment to create a company that values difference, with an inclusive culture brought to life through equity. As part of this, M&C Saatchi Group continues to be an Equal Opportunity Employer which does not and shall not discriminate, celebrates diversity, and bases all hiring and promotion decisions solely on merit, without regard for any personal characteristics. All employee information is kept confidential according to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Applications close: Tuesday, 5th November 2024. No recruitment agencies.

#LI-BM1
Group company M&C Saatchi UK Locations Soho, London Remote status Hybrid Remote