Chief Accountant

About the role

CARMACARMA, a media intelligence company, is looking for a Chief Accountant based in Dubai to own the day-to-day accounting, monthly management accounts, statutory compliance and balance sheet integrity of its UAE entity. The role reports to the Head of Finance and acts as the primary finance owner on the ground, delivering a clean and timely month-end close, maintaining strong financial controls and meeting UAE tax and statutory obligations. It works in an international, multi-currency environment (AED, USD, GBP, EUR) under IFRS.

Key responsibilities

• Prepare monthly management accounts (P&L, balance sheet, cash flow) and deliver them to the London Finance Business Partner with variance analysis and commentary
• Post month-end journals, including accruals, prepayments, deferred revenue, payroll, depreciation, provisions and IFRS 16 lease entries
• Maintain balance sheet reconciliations, review the general ledger and support budgeting and forecasting
• Maintain deferred and accrued revenue schedules under IFRS 15, track third-party costs and monitor gross margin by client and service line
• Own the UAE finance compliance calendar, prepare and coordinate VAT returns and Corporate Tax calculations, and support transfer-pricing documentation
• Coordinate payroll accounting with HR and the payroll provider, reconcile payroll records and record employee-related accruals and provisions
• Reconcile intercompany balances, process cost allocations and manage foreign exchange revaluations
• Prepare statutory financial statements, coordinate the annual external audit and maintain internal financial controls
• Monitor accounts receivable, prepare DSO and cash-flow reports, run bank reconciliations and manage supplier payments
• Support ERP maintenance, process improvement and automation of manual finance tasks

Required profile

• Approximately 5+ years of accounting experience, including management accounting, month-end close and financial reporting
• Previous experience as a Chief Accountant, Senior Accountant, Management Accountant or similar
• Qualified or finalist accountant such as ACCA, ACA, CIMA, CPA, CMA, CA or equivalent

Required skills

• Strong practical knowledge of UAE accounting, VAT, Corporate Tax and statutory compliance
• Good understanding of IFRS, especially IFRS 15 Revenue Recognition and IFRS 16 Leases