Chief Accountant

About the role

A Dubai-based Chief Accountant role leading accounting operations, ensuring accurate financial reporting, maintaining effective internal controls, meeting statutory and tax obligations and supporting management decisions through financial analysis. The role reports to the Group Finance Controller and combines technical accounting oversight with team leadership and process improvement.

Key responsibilities

• Prepare monthly, quarterly and annual financial statements, manage month-end and year-end close, review general ledger reconciliations and produce management accounts and variance analysis.
• Maintain ledger integrity, review journal entries and adjustments, determine accounting treatment for complex transactions and oversee the chart of accounts.
• Ensure compliance with IFRS, local GAAP, tax and VAT obligations and corporate reporting, coordinate statutory submissions and liaise with external auditors and regulators.
• Develop financial controls and procedures, mitigate reporting risks, support internal and external audits and ensure adherence to governance standards.
• Monitor cash flow and working capital, review bank reconciliations, support cash forecasting and liquidity planning, and support annual budgeting and forecasting.
• Analyse performance against budgets and forecasts, explain variances to management and advise operational and business leaders.
• Lead, mentor and develop the accounting team, allocate workloads, manage performance objectives and support training.
• Maintain financial systems, participate in ERP enhancements, identify automation opportunities and ensure data integrity.

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance or a related discipline.
• Preferred: professional accounting qualification such as ACA, ACCA, CIMA or CPA.
• At least 8 years of progressive accounting experience, including 3 to 5 years in a leadership or supervisory role.
• Experience managing month-end, year-end, audit and statutory reporting; multinational or multi-entity experience preferred.

Required skills

• Strong knowledge of IFRS and financial reporting standards.
• Advanced Excel skills.
• ERP systems, with SAP B1 highly preferred.
• Consolidation and multi-company accounting, and budgeting and forecasting.