Head of Accounting and Consolidation

About the role

Dentons Business Services EMEA, the operational backbone of Dentons across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, is looking for a Head of Accounting and Consolidation to lead the accounting and consolidation function within the Europe finance team. The role oversees group consolidation, ensures accurate and timely financial reporting, maintains compliance with accounting standards and drives continuous improvement. It also involves managing and developing the consolidation and accounting team, working with local finance managers and external auditors, and supporting senior finance leadership.

Key responsibilities

• Lead, manage and develop the accounting and consolidation team
• Oversee group consolidation and the preparation of consolidated financial statements within agreed deadlines
• Supervise the submission of consolidation and reporting packages and review reporting from all offices and entities
• Manage intercompany reconciliations and consolidation adjustments, and support statutory and management reporting
• Ensure compliance with the group's accounting standards (currently UK GAAP) and maintain consolidation guidelines, reporting instructions and accounting policies
• Monitor changes in accounting standards, act as a key contact for external auditors and support the audit process
• Support internal controls and governance, and cooperate with local finance managers and regional and global finance teams in a matrix environment
• Identify improvements in consolidation, accounting and reporting processes, and drive standardisation, efficiency and automation

Required profile

• University degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics or a related field
• Minimum 8-10 years of relevant experience in accounting, audit, financial reporting or consolidation
• Previous experience in a Big Four firm or similar professional services environment strongly preferred
• Experience with group consolidation, external auditors and managing a finance, accounting or consolidation team
• Experience in a multinational, matrix or complex organisation; fluent written and spoken English; another European language is an advantage

Required skills

• Professional accounting qualification (ACCA, CIMA, CPA, CA or equivalent) preferred
• Strong knowledge of consolidation principles and financial reporting standards; UK GAAP preferred, IFRS or other local GAAP an advantage
• Advanced Excel and MS Office proficiency
• Experience with consolidation tools; Wolters Kluwer Tagetik, ERP systems and financial reporting tools are advantages

What we offer

• A leadership role in a complex, global professional services environment
• Opportunities to shape accounting, consolidation and reporting processes across Europe and to work with modern finance systems
• Professional development within one of the world's largest global law firms
• Competitive compensation and benefits package