Lease Accountant

Job Title Lease Accountant

Responsible to Finance Manager (Fixed Assets, Leases & Property)

Location Parklands Court, Rubery

Sector/ Business area Financial Accounts team, Central Finance

Overall purpose of the role

Reporting to the Finance Manager (Fixed Assets, Leases & Property), the Lease Accountant will take ownership of lease accounting and reporting, including ensuring that control accounts are reviewed regularly and all items in query are resolved.

Financial Accounts team – Purpose and Context

The Financial Accounts team performs a pivotal role within Compass UK&I, overseeing fixed assets, leases/IFRS16 accounting, property related transactions, intercompany, balance sheet reconciliations, Group reporting, audit and financial statements, below the line transactions, accounting for M&A and providing advice and guidance on accounting matters as required. We also support the Tax team on sales and employment taxes as well as other Central Finance teams.

Key Accountabilities

PURPOSE

• Lease accounting and reporting
• Co-ordination and review of Compass One property work
• Approval and creation of fixed assets

PEOPLE:

• Working effectively as part of a team
• Building relationships with key stakeholders
• Liaising with colleagues from other teams for resolution of queries
• Coaching and guiding other team members

PERFORMANCE

• Carry out all steps required for month end lease processing and reporting
• Ensure that ALAE (lease accounting system) is complete and correct
• Prepare any manual journals required for missed ALAE transactions, to be posted into SAP
• Prepare IFRS16 HFM file for Group reporting
• Review all lease controls accounts monthly with preparers and ensure they are resolving any query items in a timely manner
• Identify new leases, modifications or disposals to be processed on ALAE and ensure change log is updated
• Ensure all lease related queries in the team mailbox are answered within agreed timeframes
• Assist with audit requests and statutory reporting for IFRS16
• Review the P&L for any short term/low value leases and assess correct treatment
• Oversight and co-ordination of all property work undertaken on behalf of Compass One – review of working papers/control accounts and ensuring productive meetings take place regularly with the sector finance team
• Approval of fixed asset creation/transfers where required and asset creation using Winshuttle
• Review of ONS surveys and carbon footprint reporting ahead of submission
• Maintain process notes for all business-as-usual work to enable cross training, cover and support within the team
• Cross train other team members and support with training and development of more junior colleagues

Candidate Requirements: Key Skills, Knowledge & Experience

Essential:

• Part-qualified Accountant (CIMA/ACCA/ACA) [at least 3 years completed/4 or fewer exams remaining] and minimum of three years in a finance role.
• Must be willing to commit to actively studying and qualifying in a reasonable time frame
• Intermediate to Advanced Excel skills (complex formulae, pivot tables etc)
• Good organisational and presentational skills
• Flexible and adaptable in this busy, evolving environment
• Experience of balance sheet reconciliations
• Experience of month end (accruals, prepayments, variance analysis etc)
• Experience of ERP software, SAP preferred
• Continuous improvement mindset to question current processes
• Understanding of reporting standard and experience working with IFRS16 accounting

Desirable:

• Experience with property costs
• Line management experience

We ensure you're rewarded for all your hard work, which is why we offer a comprehensive benefits package which includes but is not limited to:

• Exclusive travel discounts with TUI, Expedia, Booking.com and many more

• Save money on your food shop with discounts on Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons and more

• Up to 44% off cinema tickets to enjoy your favourite blockbuster

• Regular emails filled with the best discounts and savings available

• Receive Wow Points every time you spend and use them on a wide range of brands

• Un-wind with us with free wellness, mindfulness and exercise classes

• You can share all discounts and offers with your friends and families

• Contributory pension scheme

• Study support

• Grow your career with our Career Pathways and MyLearning programmes