Management Accountant

To combine financial, analytical and management skills to provide support to the Assistant Director of Finance & Estates and Senior Management Team with decision making and promoting long term financial health of the business. To ensure compliance with the Financial Regulations and Procedures to meet all relevant audit and statutory requirements.

Key Responsibilities

• To work with Budget Holders and the Assistant Director of Finance & Estates to develop budgets in line with strategic plans.
• To prepare draft consolidated monthly management accounts, including commentary, analysis and explanation of variances from budget and any abnormal income or expenditure.
• To ensure that all accruals and prepayments schedules are up to date at every month end and lead on issuing and ensuring the month end timetable is followed and staff keep to key deadlines set.
• To review the management accounts with the Assistant Director of Finance & Estates offering insights and analysis into nominal activity and produce final management accounts.
• To assist in the production of user-friendly budget holder reporting ensuring timeliness, relevancy and accuracy.
• Assist budget holders to manage their budgets through monitor performance and providing financial advice and guidance as required.
• To develop and implement procedures to ensure capital costs in revenue are identified and work with the Technical Accountant to ensure correctly accounted for each month end.
• Review the monthly sales ledger and purchase ledger aged debtors listing and put in place actions to ensure the timely payment of suppliers and the raising of income due from tuition fees through monthly reconciliation of the EBS system.
• To comply with audit and statutory requirements, in line with the colleges financial regulations and procedures and which reflect best practice.
• To develop and implement innovative financial systems, controls and procedures using latest technologies that reflect best practice in the sector, meet audit requirements and ensure cost effective deployment of staff.
• To ensure the accurate and timely recording and processing of general ledger transactions such as accruals, prepayments, deferrals, recharges etc. and that all transactions are appropriately authorised in line with college procedures and audit requirements.
• Ensure all control accounts are reconciled monthly excluding bank, fixed assets, loans and VAT.
• To ensure timely processing of the payroll payments and other associated payments (e.g., pensions, NI etc.) including the reconciliation of all control accounts and accurate allocation of individual costs.
• Liaise with HR staff to ensure the accuracy of individual payments in line with budget and staffing approvals.
• Support the Assistant Director of Finance with the payroll budget setting process and ensure that systems are in place and monitored on a monthly basis to reforecast budgets and provide accurate forecasting of payroll.
• To liaise with auditors and provide assistance, support and access to relevant and appropriate information, records and files.
• To implement all audit recommendations within agreed timescales.
• To provide guidance and training to all College staff on financial procedures and budget holder responsibilities and other related queries.
• To ensure the provision of a finance function that supports College activities e.g., enrolment.
• To provide leadership and direction including performance management of staff involved with the sales and purchase ledgers.
• Working closely with the Senior Finance Officer, providing support and cover as may be required.
• Any other duties of a similar level of responsibility as may be required.

Skills, Knowledge and Expertise

Qualifications

• Essential Criteria: CCAB qualified accountant with a significant amount of experience in management accounts, budgeting and performing bank reconciliations gained from working in a large complex organisation. Part qualified accountant with considerable experience in a similar role will be considered.
• Desirable Criteria: Management qualification.

Experience

• Essential Criteria: Strong track record of effective staff performance management within a busy finance department. At least 3 years experience in a similar role. Experience of balance sheet reconciliations and nominal analysis. Ability to manage and prioritise team workload to meet deadlines and audit requirements. Experienced at producing the monthly management accounts and statutory financial statements.
• Desirable Criteria: Education sector although all sectors considered including the private sector.

Specialist Knowledge

• Essential Criteria: Experience of developing systems and procedures for financial ledger input, control and reconciliation. Experience of preparing monthly management accounts. Experience of producing timely and accurate financial management information for key stakeholders and staff at all levels. Investigation of anomalies and variances.
• Desirable Criteria: Experience of VAT processing and returns. Fixed asset and depreciation calculation and recording. Practical experience of credit control procedures and debt recovery. SORP in Education.

IT Skills

• Essential Criteria: High level of Excel skills to intermediate or advanced level. Experience of implementing financial software systems.

About Hopwood Hall

STAFF BENEFITS

• Career average pension scheme.
• Free gym membership at our Middleton Campus Sports Arena.
• Purchase loans for computers and bikes.
• Staff discount at the Colleges Riverside Salon, Sports Arena and Holiday Clubs.
• On-site nursery (Rochdale Campus).
• Credit union for savings, low cost loans and life assurance.
• Free on-site parking.
• On-site Dog Kennels (spaces not guaranteed).
• An electric and hybrid car salary sacrifice scheme (with charging points on site).
• A cycle to work scheme.
• Discounted public transport tickets.
• Generous holiday entitlement (Teaching staff: 53 days, Business Support staff: 35 days (From 1st August 2026) plus bank holidays Christmas/New Year closure and the opportunity to buy additional holidays).
• Two Health and Wellbeing days per year.
• Subsidised bistro and refectory.

We are a Further Education College and University Centre offering a range of full and part time courses employing over 600 staff on our campuses in Rochdale and Middleton situated to the north-east of Manchester. We are committed to being a great place to work and have membership status of the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter. We are a Living Wage employer and an accredited Disability Confident Employer. Our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion statement is designed to ensure that unfair discrimination does not take place in any part of our recruitment process. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all learners and colleagues and we expect all colleagues and volunteers to share this commitment. The college complies with Safer Recruitment guidance in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education and all successful applicants are required to undertake a DBS check and other pre-recruitment checks in line with our Safer Recruitment policy. It is an offence to apply for a regulated role at the College if you are barred from working with children (or vulnerable adults if in a role where this applies). This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and exemption orders 1975, 2013 and 2020.