Management Accountant in Birmingham

• Description
• About School of Coding & AI

School of Coding & AI is a fast-growing education group delivering career-focused learning across higher education, digital skills, AI, health, business and wider professional programmes.

We are an ambitious organisation with a clear focus on growth, quality and student outcomes.

As the business continues to expand, we are strengthening our finance function to support a more complex group structure, improved reporting, stronger financial controls and scalable processes across multiple entities.

We are now looking for an experienced Management Accountant to support group reporting, month-end, fees, billing, revenue control and finance operations across the organisation.

About the role

This is a hands-on Management Accountant role with a strong focus on management accounts, revenue reporting, tuition fees, billing, reconciliations, multi-entity financial control and process improvement.

You will support the Group Financial Controller with the preparation of monthly management accounts across the group, ensuring reporting is accurate, timely, well controlled and supported by strong financial evidence.

You will work across multiple entities, supporting month-end close, journals, accruals, prepayments, deferred income, revenue recognition, debtor reporting and balance sheet reconciliations.

A key part of the role will be taking ownership of tuition fee billing, student receivables and revenue reporting, ensuring income is billed accurately, collected effectively and managed in line with internal controls, funding requirements and audit expectations.

The business has started to build the processes, systems and controls required to future-proof the finance function.

You will support the Group Financial Controller in implementing and embedding these improvements, helping finance become more consistent, efficient, scalable and reliable as the organisation grows.

You will also work closely with the wider finance team, including Accountants based in India, to support accurate inputs into month-end reporting, reconciliations, billing and financial controls.

This role does not have direct line management responsibility, but you will be expected to work collaboratively across the finance function, review relevant outputs where required, follow up on queries and help ensure work feeding into the month-end process is accurate and completed to the required standard.

The successful candidate will be confident using AI tools to improve efficiency, reporting, reconciliations, analysis and workflow management.

Just as importantly, they will be able to review AI-generated outputs carefully, challenge errors, apply financial judgement and ensure that anything used in reporting or decision-making is accurate and appropriate.

This role would suit someone who is already operating confidently as a Management Accountant in a multi-entity business and is looking for a role with broader exposure, more ownership and the opportunity to develop under an experienced Group Financial Controller.

• What You’ll Be Doing
• Management Accounts & Month-End
• Support the preparation of monthly management accounts across multiple group entities.
• Prepare and review month-end journals, accruals, prepayments, deferred income and revenue adjustments.
• Complete balance sheet reconciliations and investigate variances.
• Support the Group Financial Controller with consolidated month-end reporting.
• Provide analysis and commentary on income, debtors, cash collection and key financial movements.
• Ensure month-end reporting is accurate, consistent and delivered to agreed deadlines.
• Maintain clear audit trails and supporting evidence for all relevant finance activity.
• Help improve the month-end timetable, reporting structure and quality of financial information.
• Fees, Billing & Revenue Control
• Take ownership of tuition fee billing, student receivables and related revenue reporting.
• Ensure invoices, funding drawdowns, reconciliations and cash collection activity are accurate and timely.
• Maintain strong controls across tuition fee income, deferred income, refunds, withdrawals, deferrals and adjustments.
• Support accurate revenue recognition across the group.
• Produce monthly revenue reports, debtor ageing analysis and cash collection forecasts.
• Work closely with Admissions, Registry, Compliance and partner teams to ensure student data supports accurate billing and reporting.
• Support the management of complex billing scenarios including repeats, withdrawals, cooling-off periods, refunds, compensation and other adjustments.
• Help improve billing accuracy, debtor reporting and income controls.
• Multi-Entity Reporting & Financial Control
• Work across a group structure with four or more entities.
• Support intercompany reconciliations, recharges and group-level reporting requirements.
• Help maintain consistent finance processes across all entities.
• Identify control gaps and support improvements to financial processes, reconciliations and reporting.
• Support audit preparation, evidence gathering and responses to finance queries.
• Ensure finance records are accurate, complete and properly maintained.
• Support the Group Financial Controller with ad hoc finance projects, reporting improvements and process development.
• Systems, Controls & Process Improvement
• Support the Group Financial Controller with the development and implementation of improved finance processes, systems and controls.
• Help make month-end, billing, reporting and reconciliation processes more consistent, efficient and scalable.
• Identify gaps, errors, duplication or manual work within current finance processes and support practical improvements.
• Use AI tools appropriately to improve efficiency in reporting, reconciliations, analysis and workflow management.
• Review AI-generated outputs carefully to ensure accuracy, completeness and appropriate financial judgement.
• Support automation and better use of systems across finance activity.
• Help ensure processes are clearly documented, consistently followed and properly controlled.
• Contribute to a finance function that is less manual, less dependent on individuals and better prepared for future growth.
• Working With the Wider Finance Team
• Work closely with the Group Financial Controller and wider finance team, including Accountants based in India.
• Support accurate and timely inputs into the month-end process.
• Review relevant schedules, reconciliations or reports where required and follow up on queries.
• Help improve communication, task tracking and process consistency across the finance function.
• Provide clear information and support to colleagues without holding direct line management responsibility.
• Contribute to a disciplined, accurate and improvement-focused finance culture.
• Work collaboratively with internal stakeholders to resolve finance queries and improve process clarity.
• Stakeholder Support & Reporting
• Build strong working relationships with internal stakeholders across Admissions, Registry, Compliance, Operations and Academic teams.
• Provide clear guidance on fee rules, billing issues, revenue reporting and financial implications.
• Support budget holders and senior colleagues with accurate financial information where required.
• Help improve the use of finance data to support better decision-making.
• Support the development of reporting packs, dashboards and management information.
• Communicate financial information clearly to both finance and non-finance stakeholders.

Requirements

What We’re Looking For

Essential

• Fully qualified, part-qualified or actively studying CIMA, ACCA, ACA or equivalent.
• Strong experience in management accounts, month-end reporting or financial control.
• Experience working in a business with four or more entities.
• Strong experience preparing journals, reconciliations, accruals, prepayments and deferred income adjustments.
• Experience with revenue reporting, billing, accounts receivable or credit control.
• Strong understanding of month-end processes and financial controls.
• Ability to review financial information, challenge inconsistencies and follow up on queries.
• Experience supporting improvements to finance systems, processes and controls.
• Strong Excel and financial reporting skills.
• Confidence using AI tools to improve efficiency, analysis, reporting or workflow management.
• Strong judgement when reviewing AI-generated outputs, automated reports or system-generated information.
• High level of accuracy, attention to detail and financial discipline.
• Ability to investigate variances, identify issues and explain financial information clearly.
• Experience working with non-finance stakeholders.
• Experience working with finance colleagues across different locations, including offshore or remote teams.
• Comfortable working in a growing business where processes are still being developed and embedded.
• Able to bring structure and discipline without needing direct line management authority.
• Process-driven mindset with the ability to improve controls, reporting and ways of working.

Desirable

• Experience in higher education finance, student fees, SLC processes or funding models.
• Experience in an Of S-regulated provider or education environment.
• Experience working within partnered or franchise university models.
• Experience supporting consolidated management accounts or group reporting.
• Experience with audit preparation and financial control improvement.
• Experience supporting AR, billing or transactional finance colleagues.
• Experience using finance systems, automation tools, dashboards or AI-enabled reporting tools.
• Experience in a rapid-growth or start-up style environment.
• What Success Looks Like
• Monthly management accounts are accurate, timely and supported by strong evidence.
• Revenue, billing and debtor reporting are clear, controlled and reliable.
• Reconciliations, journals and month-end schedules are completed accurately and on time.
• The Group Financial Controller has strong support across month-end, reporting, controls and process improvement.
• Finance processes are cleaner, more consistent and less manual.
• AI and automation are used sensibly to improve efficiency without compromising accuracy.
• Work from the wider finance team, including offshore inputs, is properly reviewed, queried and followed up where needed.
• Stakeholders receive clear, accurate and useful financial information.
• The finance function becomes more structured, scalable and ready to support future growth.
• Why Join Us

This is an opportunity to join a growing education group at an important stage in the development of its finance function.

You will gain exposure to multi-entity reporting, group finance processes, revenue control, tuition fee billing, process improvement and wider finance operations.

You will work closely with the Group Financial Controller and have the opportunity to develop beyond core month-end duties as the organisation continues to grow.

For someone who enjoys improving processes, strengthening controls, working with data, using technology effectively and building strong financial foundations, this is a strong opportunity to make a meaningful impact.

Benefits

• 28 days annual leave plus 8 days bank holiday
• Up to 20 hours per year of paid time off for medical appointments
• Enrolled in pension scheme from the first month
• Employee Assistance Programm E
• Strong CPD and development opportunities
• Employee recognition scheme
• Company and social events
• Retail discounts through Bright Exchange