Job Description:
- Financial Management and Reporting
- Job Costing and Divisional Profitability
- Budgeting, Forecasting and Business Planning
Job Title: Company Accountant
Reports To: Directors
Location: Clones, Co Monaghan
Business Context
Clerkin Connect is recruiting on behalf of our client, an established electrical engineering business with annual turnover of approximately €4 million. The business operates across three divisions:
- Industrial Electrical Contracting
- Building of Electrical Control Modules
- Manufacture of Electrical Control Panels
The Company Accountant will play a key role in strengthening financial control, improving management information, supporting divisional profitability, and providing commercial insight to the senior management team.
Purpose of the Role
The Company Accountant will be responsible for managing the day-to-day finance function and providing accurate, timely and commercially useful financial information to support business decision-making.
The role will include preparation of monthly management accounts, cash flow management, job costing, divisional reporting, budgeting, payroll oversight, VAT and statutory compliance, and support for strategic planning. A key focus will be improving visibility of profitability across contracts, projects, products and divisions.
Key Responsibilities
Financial Management and Reporting
- Prepare monthly management accounts, including profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow reports.
- Provide clear commentary on financial performance, highlighting key movements, risks and opportunities.
- Produce divisional reports for Industrial Electrical Contracting, Control Modules and Control Panel Manufacturing.
- Monitor gross margin, overheads, profitability and working capital across the business.
- Prepare year-end accounts files and liaise with external accountants/auditors.
- Ensure financial records are accurate, complete and maintained in line with company and statutory requirements.
Job Costing and Divisional Profitability
- Develop and maintain job costing systems for contracting, module build and panel manufacturing work.
- Track labour, materials, subcontractors, overhead recovery and project profitability.
- Produce contract and project margin reports for management review.
- Work with project managers and operational teams to identify cost overruns, under-recovery and margin improvement opportunities.
- Support pricing, estimating and tender reviews with relevant financial information.
Budgeting, Forecasting and Business Planning
- Prepare annual budgets in consultation with the Directors and divisional managers.
- Maintain rolling cash flow forecasts and financial projections.
- Monitor actual performance against budget and provide variance analysis.
- Support business planning, investment decisions, funding applications and growth plans.
- Provide financial analysis for new opportunities, capital expenditure and operational improvements.
Cash Flow, Credit Control and Working Capital
- Manage cash flow forecasting and monitor daily/weekly cash position.
- Oversee customer invoicing, credit control and debt collection.
- Monitor supplier payments and ensure effective management of creditors.
- Review work in progress, accrued income, retentions and project billing schedules.
- Support the management of stock and materials where relevant to module and panel manufacturing.
Payroll, VAT and Compliance
- Oversee payroll processing and related reporting, ensuring accuracy and compliance.
- Prepare and submit VAT returns.
- Ensure compliance with Revenue requirements, pension obligations and other statutory reporting.
- Maintain appropriate financial controls, approval processes and audit trails.
- Support insurance, banking and other compliance-related financial administration.
Systems, Processes and Controls
- Review and improve finance systems, reporting processes and internal controls.
- Ensure consistent coding of costs, income, labour and materials across all divisions.
- Improve the quality and usefulness of financial reports provided to management.
- Support the implementation or improvement of accounting, payroll, job costing or stock control systems.
- Identify opportunities to streamline administration and reduce financial risk.
Commercial Support to Management
- Provide practical financial advice to the Directors and senior team.
- Attend management meetings and present financial performance clearly and concisely.
- Support divisional managers in understanding financial results and improving profitability.
- Help develop key performance indicators for revenue, gross margin, labour recovery, cash flow, debtor days, stock usage and project performance.
- Act as a constructive financial partner to both management and operational teams.
Key Performance Indicators
The role will be assessed against measures such as:
- Timely production of monthly management accounts.
- Accuracy and usefulness of financial reporting.
- Improved visibility of divisional and project profitability.
- Effective cash flow forecasting and working capital management.
- Reduction in aged debt and improvement in debtor days.
- Accurate VAT, payroll and statutory compliance.
- Improved job costing and margin reporting.
- Strong financial controls and reduced risk of errors or omissions.
Skills and Experience Required
Essential
- Previous experience in a company accountant, finance manager or senior accounts role.
- Strong management accounting experience.
- Experience preparing monthly accounts, budgets, forecasts and cash flow reports.
- Good understanding of job costing, project costing or contract accounting.
- Strong Excel and accounting software skills.
- Ability to interpret financial information and explain it clearly to non-financial managers.
- Strong attention to detail, organisational skills and commercial awareness.
- Ability to work independently and take ownership of the finance function.
Desirable
- Experience in electrical engineering, construction, manufacturing, contracting or a project-based business.
- Experience with stock, work in progress, retentions, applications for payment or project billing.
- Experience improving finance systems, controls and reporting processes.
- Part-qualified, qualified by experience, or professionally qualified accountant.
Qualifications
One of the following would be appropriate:
- Qualified Accountant: ACA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent; or
- Part-qualified Accountant with strong relevant experience; or
- Qualified by experience with a proven track record in a similar SME finance role.
Personal Attributes
- Commercially minded and practical.
- Accurate, reliable and well organised.
- Confident working with directors, managers and operational staff.
- Comfortable challenging figures, assumptions and processes constructively.
- Able to manage deadlines and competing priorities.
- Proactive in identifying issues and recommending improvements.
- Hands-on approach suitable for an SME environment.
Summary of Role
This is a key finance role within a growing electrical engineering business. The Company Accountant will be expected to combine strong accounting skills with commercial awareness and practical business support. The successful candidate will help improve financial control, strengthen reporting, support cash flow management and provide clear insight into the profitability of each division.
All applications are dealt with in confidence by Clerkin Connect.
Pay: £47,000.00-£60,000.00 per year
Work Location: In person
