Manager, Financial Control in Belfast

This is a hybrid role with our office based in central Belfast (2 days a week in office).

Pearson Financial Services (PFS) is Pearson's centre of excellence for financial planning & analysis and financial control activities. We partner with the business, Group Financial Reporting, Tax, Treasury and external auditors to provide high-quality financial reporting, governance and compliance services across Pearson's global operations.

The PFS Financial Reporting & Control team is responsible for audit, statutory reporting, month-end close activities, group reporting, balance sheet control and financial compliance across the UK, North America, APAC and Europe. The team plays a key role in ensuring compliance with external reporting requirements while driving continuous improvement and standardisation across our global finance operations.

Reporting to the Lead, Financial Control, the Manager, Financial Control will be responsible for:

• Lead and manage statutory audit activity across a portfolio of Pearson legal entities, serving as the primary point of contact for external auditors and ensuring the timely completion of audit deliverables.
• Manage the end-to-end audit activity performed by PFS as part of the annual Group audit, partnering closely with the Group Financial Reporting team, external auditors and business stakeholders to ensure the timely and accurate delivery of audit requirements.
• Manage the statutory reporting timetable and ensure all reporting and filing deadlines are achieved.
• Prepare and oversee the preparation of audited statutory financial statements in accordance with FRS 101, IFRS and applicable local GAAP requirements.
• Review and approve statutory accounts prepared by internal teams or external service providers, ensuring technical accuracy and compliance with local legislation.
• Review financial statement disclosures and ensure consistency with Group reporting and applicable accounting standards.
• Manage the preparation, conversion and submission of statutory accounts to Companies House and relevant international filing authorities.
• Oversee iXBRL tagging and submission requirements for HMRC filings.
• Coordinate external requests from auditors, regulators and local advisers.
• Act as a key liaison between Financial Control, Group Financial Reporting, Tax, Treasury, Legal and business stakeholders to ensure accurate and timely statutory reporting.
• Provide technical accounting guidance on statutory reporting matters and the interpretation of accounting standards.
• Support legal entity restructuring activities, including mergers, liquidations and other corporate transactions from a statutory reporting perspective.
• Identify risks and issues arising from audits, statutory reporting activities or regulatory changes and ensure appropriate remediation plans are implemented.
• Maintain robust controls, governance processes and documentation supporting statutory reporting activities.
• Contribute to the development of an effective control environment and ensure compliance with corporate policies and governance requirements.
• Drive simplification, standardisation, automation and continuous improvement opportunities of statutory reporting and audit processes.
• Support broader Financial Reporting & Control initiatives and transformation projects as required.
• Build strong relationships with stakeholders across Finance and the business to maintain high levels of service and responsiveness.

You are a qualified accountant with strong technical accounting knowledge and extensive experience managing statutory reporting and external audit processes within a complex international organisation. You are comfortable working with senior stakeholders, auditors and finance teams across multiple jurisdictions and have a proven track record of delivering high-quality financial statements while meeting demanding deadlines.

Key requirements:

• Fully qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CA, CIMA or equivalent).
• Significant experience in statutory reporting and external audit management.
• Strong technical accounting knowledge, including FRS 101, IFRS and UK Companies Act requirements.
• Experience preparing and reviewing financial statements for multiple legal entities.
• Demonstrated ability to manage external audit relationships and coordinate large-scale audit programmes.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple deliverables and competing priorities.
• High attention to detail and commitment to quality.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills.
• Experience working with ERP and financial reporting systems.

Desirable but not essential:

• Experience managing statutory reporting across multiple international jurisdictions.
• Experience of iXBRL tagging and UK statutory filing requirements.
• Experience working within a FTSE 100 or multinational corporate environment.
• Experience with Oracle, FCCS, Hyperion or similar financial reporting systems.
• Experience driving process improvement, automation or finance transformation initiatives.

This role offers an excellent opportunity for a technically strong qualified accountant to lead a critical area of Pearson's Financial Reporting & Control function. You will work closely with senior finance leaders, external auditors and business stakeholders while playing a key role in ensuring Pearson's compliance and governance obligations are met across a complex global legal entity structure.

Your rewards & benefits:

• A competitive salary
• Flexible working
• Ongoing professional development and support for relevant finance, leadership and technical training.
• 25 days annual leave, which increases by 1 day each year up to 30 days (with the option to buy and sell up to 5 days per year on top of this)
• A fantastic pension plan, where Pearson doubles what you contribute
• Other benefits, including private dental care, private medical insurance, digital GP service, season ticket loan, eye tests, volunteering days, employee wellbeing assistance, discounted retail and leisure products, services from leading companies and much more.