Senior Financial Accountant

Location: Hybrid, London

Salary: £60,000 to £65,000 per year

Are you looking for a Senior Financial Accountant role in a fast-growing business where people are at the heart of everything we do?

Would you like to work within a socially conscious organisation that is making a real impact in the education sector?

The Company 

The Key Group serves school leaders and trusts across the UK providing authoritative guidance and intuitive tools that support school leadership.

We work across the full diversity of schools and locations, from small rural and coastal primaries to the largest trusts and local authorities in the country.

We recognise that each school and trust is on a journey and school leaders need to identify their specific context, their own path and the next step in that journey. This process requires more than just shared values in a school, it requires the knowledge, data, context and confidence to bring others with you in effecting change.

That's why we're here. We put the power back in the hands of those leading our schools and trusts, by equipping them with remarkable products & services. The Key Group is home to 5 brands, each the leading provider in its category including Arbor, ScholarPack, Integris, The Key and GovernorHub. Nearly 600 colleagues deliver our award-winning services and serve 19,000 schools.

About the Role

This is a high-impact, highly visible role at the heart of our finance function. As our Senior Management Accountant, you will take ownership of our cost management accounting, drive month-end processes, and work across the business, partnering closely with FP&A, engineering teams, and external advisors. You'll have a real opportunity to leave your mark — helping shape not just how the finance team operates today, but how it evolves as we go through an exciting transformation to become an AI-native organisation.

This is a role for someone who is technically strong, intellectually curious, and genuinely enthusiastic about improving the way things are done.

Key Responsibilities

Month-End & Management Accounts

• Take full ownership of month-end accounting processes including full P&L responsibility for subsidiaries
• Own variance analysis against budget and forecast, with a focus on automating and streamlining this process so that insights are easy to surface and present to senior stakeholders with minimal manual effort 
• Produce board reporting packs covering actuals vs forecast, with clear and insightful commentary

Business Partnering

• Build a strong working relationship with the FP&A team to develop a deep understanding of the forecast and ensure reported results are accurate and well-understood
• Act as a finance partner across the business, supporting non-finance stakeholders with financial insight
• Partner closely with our engineering teams on the staff capitalisation process, developing a shared understanding of how work is being done to ensure our process is accurate, well-documented, and robust

Technical Accounting & Compliance

• Support on technical accounting matters and preparation of accounting policy papers
• Play an active role in the year-end process, including preparation of statutory accounts
• Own and continuously improve the staff capitalisation (R&D/capitalised labour) process, working closely with engineering teams to ensure it is robust, well-documented, and optimised for HMRC compliance and claims recovery
• Support with insurance requests and queries as they arise

Audit & Tax

• Act as a point of contact for the external audit, coordinating audit requests and providing timely, accurate responses
• Work alongside our external tax advisors (EY) to support the corporate tax return process, answering queries and providing relevant financial information
• Preparation of statutory accounts under FRS102

AI & Process Improvement

• Embrace and champion our journey to become an AI-native finance function
• Responsible for automating and using AI appropriately to make time efficiencies, harnessing Drivetrain to reduce manual effort 
• Bring ideas, take initiative, and help shape how the finance team operates

About You

Essential

• Qualified accountant – ACCA/ACA preferred, ideally trained in practice (audit background strongly valued)
• Strong technical accounting knowledge and attention to detail
• Confident communicator — able to present complex financial information clearly and concisely to senior and non-finance audiences, both verbally and in writing 
• Advanced Excel skills, including the ability to work with and interpret large datasets 
• Highly organised with the ability to manage competing deadlines and work autonomously with minimal supervision
• Enthusiastic, proactive, and eager to get stuck in — someone who takes ownership and drives things forward
• A genuine curiosity for process improvement and emerging technology, including AI, with a willingness to learn and adapt in a fast-moving environment — demonstrated through a track record of identifying and implementing improvements that have delivered measurable time and cost efficiencies. 

Desirable

• Experience in a management accounts or industry finance role
• Familiarity with NetSuite and Caseware (accounts preparation software)
• Some exposure to R&D or capitalised labour processes — this could be hands-on experience from a previous industry role, or simply having audited clients where you developed a feel for what good looks like 
• Exposure to corporate tax — whether through working directly with advisors in industry, or through audit experience where you developed familiarity with how tax processes work in practice

Why work for us

We place huge importance on caring for and developing our people. If you join us you can expect a good work-life balance and the training and support you need to succeed in your role and continue to progress. We are a socially conscious company, but one that also likes to have fun. We offer a generous holiday allowance, flexible hours, buying and selling holiday, enhanced maternity pay, free breakfast, fruit, and drinks, regular socials and much more.

What we offer

• A senior, varied role with genuine scope to shape the function
• Clear pathway to people management as the team grows
• The opportunity to be at the forefront of AI adoption in finance
• A collaborative, ambitious team environment

How to apply

Please upload your CV and covering letter below. In your cover letter please explain why you think you would be right for this role, how your experience fits, and why you would like to work at The Key

The deadline for applications is 5pm on Tuesday 30th June.