Vice President, Operational & Technical Accounting Advisory

Company Overview

We are the better way to work in finance. As private equity’s value creation partner, we sit at the heart of PE—where sponsors and CFOs meet. Through financial consulting rooted in data, technology, and AI, we help clients drive value—supporting the office of the CFO to drive end-to-end value creation.

If you crave challenging work and are looking to grow, come solve complex issues alongside 1,400+ finance & technology experts in a supportive, collaborative environment.

As we build our European footprint, the London office presents a unique entrepreneurial opportunity to shape our presence and accelerate growth across the region—while benefiting from the support and stability of an established, industry-leading firm.

Backed by premier private equity firms and headquartered in New York with 10 offices around the globe, we are a high-growth, entrepreneurial firm looking for people who want to be part of building something great. Come make your mark. 

Operational & Technical Accounting Practice (O&T)

With the increase in complexity of the business environment and transactions, CFOs of private equity-backed companies are increasingly being looked towards to drive strategic insights for their business. Finance organizations are no longer simply result reporters, but rather, they couple these results with forward-looking data to provide strategic insights which are leveraged to make business decisions. Efficiency of process and meaningful control environments allows for speed of financial reporting with increasingly accurate measures, leaving more time for the finance team to add future enterprise value, rather than look backwards.

Accordion’s Operational & Technical Accounting Advisory (O&T) Practice is comprised of a dedicated team providing accounting and financial advice to support PE-backed portfolio companies on a wide range of transactions and events, including enhancing accounting policies & procedures, accelerating the financial statement close process, designing and implementing the financial controls environment, addressing technical accounting matters, assessing the finance and accounting function & accounting and controlling organization standup post-carve-out or merger transaction.  We are doers and problem solvers – making sense of complexity and bolstering sponsors’ value creation theses.

This role will be based in our London office and will require regular and extensive travel across Europe to work with clients in the relevant jurisdictions. Ideal candidates should be local to the desired location, with the flexibility to work remotely 1-2 days a week, blending the best of both worlds for efficiency and collaboration.

What You’ll Do:

As part of a lean, cross-functional team, the O&T Vice President will play a vital role in identifying and rectifying issues across a broad range of scenarios. The following representative engagements are emblematic of the type of work you’ll do as an O&T Vice President at Accordion:

A rapidly growing company with a global footprint routinely takes 45 days to close its books and produce financial statements. You and the team are brought in to:

• Perform deep-dives and gain an understanding of current state processes, people, and systems (both on paper and in reality).
• Identify root causes and provide recommendations on how to improve broken processes, bridge control gaps, and better align roles and responsibilities with best practices.
• Implement tools and solutions that the accounting and controlling function can use to streamline their close process (e.g. introduce materiality limits, close checklists, and calendars).

The team is advising a recently acquired company going through their first-year audit. You will assist the team with the following initiatives:

• Local-GAAP to IFRS conversion, adopting key accounting standards such as revenue recognition and lease accounting
• The timely and accurate preparation of financial statements, account reconciliations, and supporting schedules 
• Project managing the audit timeline throughout the engagement   

Following the acquisition of three similar, stand-alone businesses across Europe, a PE Sponsor has identified the need to consolidate operations in order to realize the synergies identified in their investment thesis. Get ready to:

• Design a singular finance and accounting function that can serve all three businesses; you’ll put together intuitive processes and controls and realign roles and responsibilities to suit the strengths of the individuals.
• Draft a unified set of policies and procedures that speak to all three businesses and encourages them to operate and communicate with consistency.
• Design a standard chart of accounts for a consolidated business.
• Select, and champion the business part of an implementation of a robust ERP solution which meets the needs of the combined business.
• Conduct purchase accounting analyses and establish IFRS-compliant opening balance sheets for each transaction.
• Consolidate their existing financial reporting from disparate systems, including aligning with IFRS and adjusting for deviations in accounting policies and procedures, to produce a single source of financial truth.

In order to keep pace with its competitors, a technology company is looking to move away from a traditional subscription-based model to a SaaS model, and requires guidance in dealing with the key finance and accounting implications which will ensue. You are part of a team that will:

• Address changes in revenue recognition requirements and draft accounting policies that affirm the new normal.
• Challenge existing assumptions in underlying revenue forecasts and associated cost-drivers.
• Evolve the invoicing process to reflect new business processes.

You Have:

• Minimum 5 – 9 years of experience working in financial accounting or operations at a top-tier accounting or financial advisory firm, and/or private company,
• Bachelor’s degree in accounting or related field; CA or similar certification is a plus,
• A strong and up-to date knowledge of IFRS (exposure to US-GAAP is a plus), with deep technical understanding of topics such as IFRS 15 (Revenue recognition), IFRS 16 (Leasing), IFRS 3 (Business Combinations), etc.,
• Experience in the following areas: technical accounting advisory, audit readiness, and functional accounting / controllership support,
• Bilingual (or more) proficiency is a plus.
• Strong Excel and PowerPoint skills and
• Strong client service mindset and communication skills.

You Are:

• Excited to be part of a growing team, with a focus on driving future growth,
• Experienced in advising clients on financial accounting issues,
• Knowledgeable of complex financial accounting and operations issues,
• Passionate about delivering exceptional client service,
• Experienced in advising clients on financial and transformation initiatives,
• Knowledgeable about the relationship between Private Equity sponsors and their portfolio companies, particularly within the office of the CFO,
• Willing to “get your hands dirty” in the details of a project while simultaneously seeing the whole picture,
• Comfortable managing projects with multiple complex workstreams while also focused on your single workstream (you are managing and doing),
• A self-starter with a strong work ethic,
• Full of entrepreneurial spirit and comfortable in a fluid, flat organization,
• Able to effectively communicate complex issues and solutions, and raise issues to senior team members when necessary,
• A team player, able to work with team members across all levels,
• Someone who enjoys mentoring others and doing meaningful work,
• A leader of others; you lead by example and

Accordion is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills.  We do not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, religion, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical​​​ condition, pregnancy, genetic information, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or ​expression, military status, or any other status protected under law.

Please note that as per Accordion policy, we do not accept unsolicited resumes from third-party recruiters unless such recruiters are engaged to provide candidates for a specified opening and in alignment with our inclusive diversity values. Any employment agency, person or entity that submits an unsolicited resume does so with the understanding that Accordion will have the right to hire that applicant at its discretion without any fee owed to the submitting employment agency, person or entity.

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