the economist
Accounting Manager – Economist
Job Description
Accounting Manager – Economist
India-Gurugram
- ID
2023-9601- Function
Accounting / Finance
Introduction
Who we are:
The Economist Group is a global media and information-services company that exists to champion
progress with customers currently spread across 159 countries and an active subscriber base of 1.2
million. We provide individuals and organisations with the expertise, insights and perspective to press
forward.
The Finance team’s vision is to partner with the Group in driving profitable growth, through finance
excellence. We support our businesses to make effective commercial and operational decisions;
provide information and analysis to management and the Board to support strategic decisions;
manage working capital to quickly convert profit into cash; develop and maintain a strong control
environment to comply with legal, statutory and tax legislation in all territories we operate in.
With over 100 Finance professionals operating from offices in London, New York, Hong Kong &
Gurugram, we are rapidly building a substantial presence in Gurugram to become our largest finance
hub. You will be joining our global organisation at a pivotal moment, working with finance and
business colleagues from around the globe to deliver the Finance vision.
The Business:
– an iconic brand with a history dating back 179 years
– a truly global business with customers in over 150 countries
– a unique combination of B2B and B2C Businesses
The Finance Team:
– be part of our Finance Transformation programme, reshaping our processes and the
technology we use
– work closely with finance and business colleagues from around the globe
– ability to influence in an organisation of 1,600 people
The Economist
The Economist is produced in print, digital and online formats. It sells direct subscriptions to a largely
B2C audience on monthly, quarterly and annual renewal cycles collecting cash via Credit card,
Paypal, direct debit payment methods. It also receives cash from B2C customers sold via 3rd party
agents and digital 3rd party e-commerce platforms (e.g. Apple, Amazon, Google). The Economist also
syndicates content to 3rd parties for use in their publications and receives revenue from sale of
second rights.
Accountabilities
The role
We are looking for an experienced Manager to lead the management accounting for The Economist
business. The role involves managing the monthly management accounting and financial controls for
the business division and external audits thereof.
The initial focus of the role will be in recruiting and building the local team and migrating and
transitioning accounting processes from local teams. Once service levels are stabilized, the next
focus will be on standardizing procedures and targeting efficiencies through standardisation,
simplification and process improvement.
The position will report into the Senior Manager – Business Accounting who is based in Gurugram,
India and will form a close working partnership with the Chief Accountant, the Finance Director for
The Economist and his FP&A and Commercial finance teams, mainly based in the UK.
Key Accountabilities:
● Delivery of monthly management accounts including profit and loss, volume and KPIs,
balance sheet, commentary and other financial analysis
● Present and explain the monthly management accounts to the Finance Director and the
commercial finance team
● Develop relationships with internal business managers in EMEA, US and Asia responsible for
managing key business activities
● Manage the preparation and review of balance sheet reconciliations and clear all differences,
analyse and explain balance sheet movements.
● Designs and implement appropriate internal controls and communicate requirements to
business leaders and ensure appropriate implementation of key controls
● Manage a team of 3 people including the work scheduling, coaching, review, mentoring,
performance management and development.
● Actively supports the Finance Director and Commercial Finance to ensure the priorities and
critical initiatives are reflected in the financial accounting and reporting.
● Accounting for global marketing expenditure and partnering with business managers in this
area to ensure completeness of activity and accuracy of accruals.
● Accounting for Retail sales (one-off sales of The Economist sold on the newsstand by
circulation agents) and partnering business managers in this area to ensure completeness of
activity
● Analysis of Marketing spend for inclusion in management reporting packs
● Analysis of Retail sales for inclusion in management reporting packs
● Support year-end audit and statutory financial accounts preparation
● Liaise with FP&A teams to ensure good hands off of accounting information flowing into
monthly forecasts and budgets
● Ad hoc projects/ analysis as required
Experience, skills and professional attributes
Experience, skills and professional attributes
The ideal skills for this role are:
Skills / Attributes
● Education and training
– Qualified Accountant
– Batchelors degree in finance
● Previous work experience
– Experience of management accounting including accruals and variance analysis
– Experience of working on budgets and forecasts
– Balance sheet reconciliations
– Working to deadlines
● IT
– MS Office, Excel to intermediate level, Powerpoint, Peoplesoft
● Key skills
– Attention to detail and Accuracy
– Ability to manage own deadlines and prioritise work
– Good written and oral communication skills
Personal attributes
– Commitment to quality and timely service delivery
– An ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines
– Self-motivator, eager and willing to learn
– Pro-activity and responsiveness
● Interpersonal skills
– Able to communicate well with managers and provide support to non-financial managers
Performance Measures:
● Accuracy of accounting
● Level of support provided to the business and own team
● Ability to meet reporting deadlines
● All reconciliations fully up to date, maintained and issues followed up promptly
● Timely production of budgets and forecasts
● Ability to provide well-presented information and insightful analysis of information
The Economist Group values diversity. We are committed to equal opportunities and creating an
inclusive environment for all our employees. We welcome applicants regardless of ethnic origin,
national origin, gender, gender identity, race, colour, religious beliefs, disability, sexual orientation ,
age or marital status.