Balance Sheet Control Accountant

The job in a nutshell

The Balance Sheet Control Accountant plays a key role in supporting the Group Reporting Manager with the control over the balance sheet and the preparation of external financial reporting.

The position reports to the Group Reporting Manager and does not have any direct reports. The successful individual will be required to support and work collaboratively with peers in the Financial Control team and wider CFO function.

The role is suitable for a part-qualified chartered accountant or experienced finance professional, possibly making their first move from practice and is based at the Support Centre.

What you’ll be doing:

Balance sheet control

• 
  Responsibility for, and posting journals to, a number of GL lines and business units
• Communicating internal month end deadlines across finance department
• Closing period ends when all finance teams have completed their postings
• Controlling intercompany balances and interest charges
• Maintain balance sheet reconciliation model / own automated reconciliation tool and monitor completion of reconciliations throughout the month ended process
• Produce exception reporting for key balance sheet controls to highlight areas which may require additional resources or support
• Review ageing of reconciling items and monitor resolution / cleardown
• Liaise with internal and external auditors in respect to review of key balance sheet controls
• Manage testing of control framework once established

Fixed Assets

• Assist the Property and Fixed Assets Finance Manager with the maintenance of the fixed asset register
• Assist with monthly capex reporting requirements and commentaries
• Monitor nature of capital spend to ensure compliance with Travelodge capitalisation policy and approval in line with delegated authorities
• Review progress of ongoing capital projects to ensure accounting is complete, timely and accurate
• Build and maintain relationship with key contacts in Maintenance and Property / Estates teams
• Contribute to financial planning for capital spend and cash flow

External Financial Reporting

• Support the Group Reporting Manager and the Group Reporting Accountant with preparation of external financial reporting, including monthly accounts, quarterly bond statements and full year annual report and accounts
• Contribute to the success of the audit as required through good planning and managing to timeline
• Liaise with external auditors as required

What we’ll expect from you

• 
  To succeed in this role you will be working towards an accountancy qualification, (ACA, CIMA and ACCA). You will already be working in a financial accounting or reporting capacity either within practice or a multi-site industry.
• You will be looking for a stretching role that requires a high level of attention to detail and a proactive and flexible approach to taking on new challenges. You will be a confident, articulate communicator comfortable interacting with senior leaders in the business and challenging the status quo appropriately. You will have a keen eye for identifying and implementing efficiencies and process improvements.
• A high level of competence in Microsoft Excel is a prerequisite and literacy in financial systems and reporting tools useful. Knowledge of SUN and/or Q&A is beneficial.

At Travelodge, we believe that behaviours are just as important as the activities you carry out. The ones we look for in every colleague are:

I care about people

• I treat everyone in a way I would like to be treated
• I am easy to work with
• I have a can do attitude
• I care about the impact my work has on others

I pay attention to detail

• I do the little things that make a difference to our customers
• I work to brand standards
• I treat Travelodge time, equipment and stock as if it were my own

I drive for results

• I hit targets in my role and work at the right pace
• I take ownership of problems and try to fix them fast
• I look for ways to avoid future problems
• I look for ways to promote Travelodge

What you can expect from us

Culture

At Travelodge, we are warm, straightforward and optimistic. We have a big footprint in the UK, but still a small company feel and you can expect quality and value to be built in to everything we do. You’ll have the support of a close network of colleagues and managers, and every day is different here! We want you to bring your personality to work and we love our diversity.

Reward and recognition

It’s not just our customers we want to wake up with a smile on their face. As well as a competitive salary, being part of our hotel support centre means great holiday entitlements, pension contribution deals, being part of our bonus scheme, and a Thanks Card giving generous room and food discounts as well as friends and family rates.

Career and development

We want you to develop further with us at Travelodge and we’ll provide you a development plan to help you reach your goals. You can expect to have a full induction and training relevant to your role. We advertise all our vacancies internally, so you’ll have the opportunity to really develop your career with Travelodge.