Group Accountant in London

Are you a recently qualified ACA / CA / CIMA / ACCA professional from a Big 4 or top-tier practice, ready to step into a role with genuine breadth, influence and progression? Celnor Group is looking for a high-calibre Group Accountant to join our HQ finance team at a pivotal point in our growth journey. This is not a narrow reporting role, it’s a build, shape and scale opportunity, working closely with the Group Finance Director and Chief Finance Officer to professionalise and mature the head office finance function of a fast-growing acquisitive group.

If you’re ambitious, commercially curious and looking for a role that will rapidly expand your skillset and future career options, this could be a standout next step.

As Group Accountant, you will take ownership of the head office finance function, building robust processes, controls and reporting frameworks that support a complex, multi-entity group. You’ll play a central role in establishing management information, governance and financial discipline at group level, while gaining hands‐on exposure to group consolidation, senior stakeholder interaction and strategic decision‐making. This role is designed for someone who wants to learn fast, take responsibility early and grow with the business as Celnor continues to expand through acquisition.

What you will be doing:

• Set up and manage Head Office management accounts for the group entity in Xero
• Design and implement cost centre structures across group head office spend
• Establish and embed a Delegation of Authority framework
• Build and operate purchase order and invoice approval processes
• Produce and maintain group cost dashboards in Planful, including exceptional items reporting and cash reporting and visibility
• Support the Group Finance Director with group consolidation across multiple entities, financial insight, analysis and reporting, and ongoing improvement of group‐level financial controls and processes
• Act as a key finance partner to HQ stakeholders, bringing clarity and structure to group costs and spend

What you will bring:

• Essential: Qualified ACA / CA / CIMA / ACCA
• 1–2 years post-qualified experience (ideal for Big 4 / Top 10 practice backgrounds)
• Strong technical accounting foundation with excellent attention to detail
• Hands‐on experience with Xero
• A strong bookkeeping mindset, comfortable being close to the numbers
• Proactive, self-starting working style with the confidence to build processes from scratch

Desirable:

• Exposure to group reporting or consolidation environments
• Experience working with management accounts or cost reporting tools
• Interest in scaling businesses, acquisitions or group finance environments

Why join?

• Accelerated career progression, this role is designed to grow as the group grows
• Direct exposure to a Group FD and CFO and wider senior leadership
• A chance to build rather than inherit systems and processes
• Broad, commercially relevant experience rarely available so early post-qualification
• A fast-growing group with a strong track record of internal development and promotion

Celnor Group is a rapidly growing UK-based group operating across specialist testing, inspection, compliance and risk management services. Through a combination of organic growth and ongoing acquisitions, we continue to scale our operations, systems and leadership capability creating exciting opportunities for ambitious finance professionals to grow with us. This role would suit someone who wants more than a traditional reporting job, someone looking to become a future finance leader in a growing group environment.