A Hybrid working model

What does the Senior Revenue Accountant do at WPP Production? 

As a Senior Revenue Accountant, you will be a part of Controllership and key in ensuring compliance with policies and procedures to enable accurate revenue recognition, financial reporting, and drive improvements in process and define ways of working.  You will work with various stakeholders which include colleagues in the Revenue Team, Commercial Finance, Financial Reporting, and Management Accountants, while reporting into the Head of Revenue UK.  This opportunity is for an individual who enjoys being a subject matter expert in revenue recognition, thrives in addressing operational challenges to drive continuous improvement, and works well in a fast-paced environment that is evolving and changing.  This role requires someone who is intellectually curious, can understand the end-to-end lifecycle of the contract-to-cash business process, and considers upstream and downstream impact of responsibilities and decisions made.  You may also have the opportunity to take ownership of some of our client accounts, depending on the requirements of the business. 

Key Responsibilities 

• Contract and Project Evaluation: Critically review, evaluate, and document the accounting treatment for high-value contracts and projects, to ensure alignment with IFRS 15 and WPP policies and procedures.
• Complex Transaction Documentation: Assist in the preparation of documentation for complex revenue transactions and technical positions. This includes in-depth research and analysis, understanding and explaining the impact on revenue recognition, and ensuring alignment among all relevant parties.
• Standardisation and Guidance: Champion the consistent application of revenue accounting policies and procedures for the UK and actively engage with the Business to provide expert assistance and clarify complex scenarios.
• Knowledge Sharing and Development: Elevate the expertise within WPP Production UK by creating and delivering engaging trainings and ad hoc support to various stakeholders and audiences.  Participate in the creation of training and reference materials to address business requirements for various stakeholders.
• Problem Solving: Ability to understand complex technical, operational, or systemic issues/problems to collect detail, analyse facts, and derive potential solutions and present to stakeholders and key decision makers.
• External Audit & Advisor Liaison: Facilitate smooth engagements with external and internal auditors by providing comprehensive information, support, and expert responses.
• Other Ad Hoc Reporting, Projects and Analyses: Involvement in ad hoc, mid-month, and month-end reporting which impact Trade Working Capital, other operational aspects pertaining to the life cycle of jobs, intercompany transactions, and revenue recognition.

Requirements 

• Qualified Accountant: Professional accounting qualification (ACA, ACCA, CPA or equivalent) with significant experience in a dedicated technical accounting role, either in public practice or industry.
• Multinational Experience: Experience within a large multinational organisation, matrixed-reporting structure ideally with exposure to UK and US public company reporting requirements.
• Expert Knowledge and Technical Proficiency: Subject matter expertise in IFRS 15 or ASC 606, and experiencing in working within SOX or internal control frameworks. Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (especially Excel) and strong overall IT literacy and strong curiosity to learn in-depth how ERP systems work.
• Analytical Acuity: Detail orientation combined with analytical and research skills to determine appropriate accounting treatments for complex scenarios, understand trends in operational issues, and ability to analyse reports to identify issues.
• Communication Prowess: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to distil and articulate complex technical or operational matters clearly and concisely to diverse audiences.
• Proactive and Organised: Self-motivated with a proven ability to manage competing priorities, deliver timely stakeholder support, and ensure the completion of long-term deliverables against month-end closing responsibilities and work autonomously while seeking guidance when necessary.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Demonstrated ability to build strong, collaborative relationships with multiple stakeholders, coupled with the confidence to robustly defend accounting conclusions.
• Continuous Improvement Mindset: A commitment to challenging existing processes and proactively identifying opportunities for continuous improvement and development of accounting policies or operational procedures.