Commercial Finance Accountant

Location Tunbridge Wells
Salary Paying £70k - £75k DOE + Bonus
Contract Permanent
Job Ref

We are recruiting a Commercial Finance Business Partner / Commercial Finance Accountant on behalf of a well-established professional services firm.

This is a genuine commercial finance role rather than a reporting one. You will sit close to the business — partnering directly with practice groups and fee earners to improve billing, WIP, lock-up and pricing discipline, and giving partners the insight they need to make better commercial decisions. Reporting to the Head of Department, you will own revenue and profitability analysis across the firm and have visible influence on financial performance.

It suits an analytical, commercially curious accountant who enjoys working with non-finance stakeholders and is comfortable challenging senior people constructively.

What you'll be doing

Revenue and WIP management

  • Monitoring WIP levels across practice groups and fee earners
  • Analysing aged WIP and supporting action plans to accelerate billing
  • Reviewing billing pipelines and expected revenue timing
  • Identifying matters at risk of write-down or write-off

Lock-up and working capital

  • Analysing WIP days and debtor days across practice areas
  • Supporting credit control on key client accounts
  • Identifying bottlenecks in the matter lifecycle affecting cash flow
  • Reporting on firm-wide lock-up performance and supporting initiatives to reduce working capital

Business partnering

  • Acting as the finance contact for allocated practice groups, attending departmental meetings
  • Providing insight on utilisation, billing and profitability, and helping partners interpret performance metrics
  • Producing revenue and profitability reporting by department and fee earner
  • Analysing fee income, realisation and recovery trends, and investigating margin erosion
  • Preparing performance dashboards for practice leaders

Forecasting and budgets

  • Assisting with revenue forecasts and departmental budgets
  • Monitoring performance against budget and forecasting monthly billing and cash collections

Pricing and commercial support

  • Supporting partners with financial analysis for pricing proposals and client tenders
  • Analysing profitability of large matters and key clients
  • Modelling new service lines and lateral hires

What we're looking for

  • ACA, ACCA or CIMA qualified or part-qualified (or equivalent)
  • Exposure to revenue analysis, management reporting or FP&A
  • Strong financial analysis capability, advanced Excel and financial modelling skills
  • Experience working with non-finance stakeholders and the confidence to influence and challenge at senior level
  • Strong communication and presentation skills
  • A commercial mindset and real curiosity about what drives business performance
  • Able to work proactively and independently

Finance experience within a professional services environment and familiarity with practice management systems and reporting tools would be an advantage, but are not essential if the analytical and commercial foundations are strong.

What's on offer

  • £70k - £75k
  • Hybrid Working
  • Bonus
  • Private medical
  • Life Assurance
  • Pension
  • 27 days holiday + bank holidays

 

Apply now

Consultant

Dan Gladwin

Director