Management Accountant

Are you looking for a management accountant where you want to build something, not just maintain it?

The Opportunity

Athwal Resourcing is delighted to be supporting a large national foodservice and distribution group, growing fast through acquisition, to recruit a Management Accountant into its Cheltenham finance team.

The finance function is being rebuilt from the ground up, legacy processes are being redesigned as the business scales through acquisition. You won't be inheriting a settled process; you'll have a direct hand in reshaping it.

Reporting to the Director of Financial Control, you'll own management accounting down to gross margin level across a multi-depot operation. With particular focus on sales, cost of sales, rebates, fixed assets and stock. You will be working closely with the operations finance team to keep the numbers accurate, reconciled and genuinely useful.

If you're a qualified accountant who'd looking for a challenge in a growing highly inquisitive group, and who can hit the ground running with minimal supervision, we'd love to hear from you.

The Role

As Management Accountant, you'll:

• Management Accounts Prepare and produce monthly management accounts and P&Ls for each operational depot, individually and on a consolidated basis, including accruals, prepayments, reconciliations and analysis to strict deadlines.
• Cost of Sales & Margin Own the detailed reporting of sales and gross margin, including cost of sales, direct costs and variance analysis against budget and forecast.
• Rebates Take full ownership of supplier rebate accounting, reconciliation and analysis of rebate income against contracted terms, plus rebates receivable, including renewals and reporting
• Technical Accounting Apply sound technical accounting for stock, fixed assets and leases under IFRS 16/FRS 102.
• Depot & Intercompany Reconciliations Manage inter-depot and intercompany reconciliations across a multi-site network.
• Budgeting & Forecasting Support the annual budgeting process and monthly forecast updates for sales and cost of sales, working closely with the Finance Business Partner for Operations.
• Stakeholder Engagement Liaise with operational teams to validate the accuracy of historical data and understand variances, communicating clearly with colleagues across the business.
• Board Reporting Provide commentary for the board pack, comparing actuals against budget and forecast and work closely with the Director of Financial Control on ad hoc duties and projects.

About You

You'll be a qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA or CIMA) with genuine hands-on experience producing a full set of management accounts, ideally within a fast-moving wholesale, distribution or manufacturing environment where physical product is accounted for.

You won't be someone who has followed the same process in the same role for years without needing to ask why. You'll be resilient, adaptable and comfortable working things out for yourself in a fast-paced, still-evolving finance function and be genuinely energised by change rather than needing a stable, unchanging environment.

You'll also bring:

• A pragmatic mindset;
• The confidence to work independently, produce the accounts and explain them clearly to non-finance stakeholders;
• Comfort with change as the business grows through acquisition.
• Advanced Excel literacy, including the ability to interpret and unpick complex, undocumented formulae (working knowledge of SQL an advantage);
• Practical experience of stock accounting and lease accounting under IFRS 16/FRS 102;

Why Apply?

This is a genuine career opportunity to help rebuild a finance function's core processes from scratch, in a fast-growing, values-led business with real stability in its customer base. In return, you'll enjoy:

• A competitive salary of 50,000 - 55,000 plus benefits;
• An office-based role in Cheltenham, working closely with an experienced Director of Financial Control;
• A standalone role with real scope to shape process, not just follow it;
• A down-to-earth, values-led culture that has stayed close to its roots despite fast growth;
• Genuine visibility as your work will directly underpin decision-making for the Board and Senior Management Team.

Interested?

If you're looking for a management accounting role with real scope to simplify and rebuild, not just maintain and you're ready to make it a career rather than a stepping stone, we'd love to hear from you.