Group Head of Accounting & Shared Services

Job Description

The Group Head of Accounting & Shared Services is responsible for leading the Group’s accounting, transactional finance, financial control, statutory reporting, shared services operations, and external audit activities.

Reporting directly to the Group CFO, the role will lead the transformation and modernization of the finance operating model through the creation and management of a digitalized Finance Shared Services function, ensuring efficient, scalable, and best-in-class transactional finance processes across the Group.

The position has end-to-end accountability for financial accounting, accounts payable, accounts receivable, general ledger, fixed assets, intercompany accounting, statutory consolidation, external audit management, financial controls, and compliance with IFRS and local regulatory requirements.

The successful candidate will combine strong technical accounting expertise with transformation leadership capabilities and experience managing complex multi-entity organizations.

Key Responsibilities

Group Accounting & Financial Control

• Lead all Group accounting operations and financial control activities.
• Ensure accurate and timely month-end, quarter-end, and year-end financial close processes.
• Establish and maintain robust accounting policies and procedures across all Group entities.
• Ensure compliance with IFRS and applicable UAE statutory and regulatory requirements.
• Drive consistency and standardization of accounting practices across the Group.
• Maintain strong governance over accounting judgments and technical accounting

Statutory Consolidation & Financial Reporting

• Own the Group annual statutory consolidation process across all subsidiaries/BU
• Ensure timely preparation of consolidated financial statements as per IFRS.
• Oversee accounting for acquisitions, restructurings, and corporate transactions.
• Manage group intercompany reconciliations and elimination processes.
• Provide technical accounting guidance relating to complex transactions.
• Coordinate Board, Audit Committee, and lender financial reporting requirements.

Shared Services Leadership

• Design, establish, and lead a centralized Finance Shared Services organization.
• Consolidate and optimize transactional finance processes across the Group.
• Manage: Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, General Ledger Fixed Assets Intercompany Accounting Employee Expense Management Cash Application
• Drive implementation of Activity Based costing for the SSC and continuous process improvement initiatives for the optimisation of Cost per Transaction (“CPT”) of SSC
• Implement service-level agreements (SLAs) and KPI-driven service delivery models.

Finance Digitalisation & Transformation

• Lead Finance Transformation focused on efficiency, automation, and scalability.
• Design and implement a digital finance operating model.
• Introduce best-in-class automation solutions for: Procure-to-Pay (P2P), Order-to-Cash (O2C), Record-to-Report (R2R), Intercompany accounting, Reconciliations Financial close management
• Drive ERP optimization and finance systems enhancements.
• Implement workflow automation and analytics tools.
• Reduce manual processing and improve finance productivity metrics.

External Audit & Compliance

• Lead all external audit engagements across the Group.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for external auditors.
• Coordinate audit planning, fieldwork, and statutory filing requirements.
• Ensure timely closure of audit observations and recommendations.
• Strengthen internal control frameworks and governance practices.
• Support internal audits and compliance reviews.

Internal Controls & Governance

• Develop and maintain a robust financial control environment.
• Establish accounting governance frameworks and policies.
• Ensure compliance with delegated authority and approval matrices.
• Monitor control effectiveness and remediation actions.
• Support risk management initiatives across the Group.

Process Excellence

• Improve month-end close efficiency and reporting timelines.
• Standardize accounting procedures across all business units.
• Drive operational excellence within finance operations.
• Establish benchmark metrics for finance performance and productivity.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement and accountability.

Leadership & Talent Development

• Lead and develop Group Accounting and Shared Services teams.
• Build a high-performance accounting organization.
• Mentor finance managers and develop future finance leaders.
• Drive capability enhancement and succession planning.
• Foster collaboration across Finance, Operations, Treasury, and FP&A.

Candidate Profile

The successful candidate will be a technically strong accounting leader with demonstrated experience managing large-scale finance operations, statutory consolidations, and finance transformation programs within complex multi-entity organizations.

The candidate should possess a strong blend of controllership expertise, process improvement experience, and leadership capability.

Qualifications

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, Finance, Commerce, or related discipline.

Preferred Education

MBA (Finance) or Master’s Degree in Accounting or Finance

Mandatory Professional Qualification

Candidates must possess one of the following: ACA, ACCA, CPA

Highly Preferred

• Chartered Accountant from a recognized international accounting body.
• Big Four audit background (PwC, EY, Deloitte, KPMG).
• Additional qualifications such as CIMA or CIA considered advantageous.

Experience Requirements – Essential

• 15+ years of progressive accounting and finance experience.
• Minimum 7 years in a senior accounting leadership role.
• Proven experience leading Group accounting functions within a multi-entity organization.
• Extensive IFRS and statutory reporting expertise.
• Significant experience managing annual consolidated financial statements.
• Strong external audit management experience.
• Proven track record leading accounting teams of 20+ employees.
• Shared Services design and implementation.
• Finance transformation/ process optimization/automation experience
• ERP implementation or major finance systems projects.

Experience Requirements – Preferred

Industry experience in: Automotive Mobility, Vehicle Leasing, Automotive Distribution, Transportation & Logistics, Large regional conglomerates with material Trading business

Technical Competencies

Accounting & Reporting

IFRS, Group Consolidation, Statutory Reporting, Financial Control, Technical Accounting, External Audit Management, Internal Controls

Finance Operations

Procure-to-Pay, Order-to-Cash, Record-to-Report, Shared Services Management, Process Excellence, Continuous Improvement

Systems

Oracle ERP (preferred), SAP S/4HANA, Hyperion / FCCS, EPM, Power BI Advanced Excel

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Financial Control

Audit Completion Without Significant Findings, Timeliness of Financial Close, Accuracy of Financial Reporting, IFRS Compliance

Shared Services

CPT, SLA Achievement, Productivity Improvements, Process Cycle Time Reduction

Transformation

Automation Rate, Reduction in Manual Processes, ERP optimization Benefits

Governance

Internal Control Effectiveness, Audit Observation Closure Regulatory Compliance

Ideal Candidate

A commercially aware, technically exceptional accounting leader with Big Four credentials and extensive industry experience, capable of building a world-class finance operations and shared services environment. The individual should be able to act as the Group CFO’s trusted partner for financial control, governance, statutory reporting, audit management, and finance transformation while creating a scalable finance operating model to support the Group’s long-term growth ambitions.