Chief Accountant

Job Title - Chief Accountant

Location - Dubai, UAE

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

Core Responsibilities

Financial Reporting and General Ledger

The Chief Accountant prepares monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statements; manages timely month-end and year-end close processes; reviews general ledger reconciliations; and monitors accounting records and transactions for accuracy and completeness. The role also produces management accounts and variance analysis reports.

General ledger responsibilities include maintaining ledger integrity, reviewing journal entries and adjustments, determining the correct accounting treatment for complex transactions, and overseeing the chart of accounts structure and governance.

Statutory Compliance and Governance

The role ensures compliance with IFRS, local GAAP, company accounting policies, tax and VAT obligations, and corporate reporting requirements. It coordinates statutory financial statement preparation and submission, while managing relationships with external auditors and regulatory authorities.

The Chief Accountant develops and maintains financial controls and accounting procedures, identifies and mitigates financial reporting risks, supports internal and external audits, and ensures adherence to company policies and governance standards.

Treasury, Budgeting, and Financial Analysis

Treasury responsibilities cover monitoring cash flow and working capital, reviewing bank reconciliations and treasury reporting, and supporting cash forecasting and liquidity planning.

The role supports annual budgeting and forecasting, analyses performance against budgets and forecasts, investigates and explains variances to management, and provides accounting expertise to operational and business leaders.

Team Leadership and Systems Improvement

The Chief Accountant leads, mentors, and develops the accounting team; allocates workloads; manages performance objectives; supports training and professional development; and drives continuous improvement in accounting processes and systems.

Systems responsibilities include maintaining financial systems and accounting controls, participating in ERP enhancements, identifying automation and efficiency opportunities, and ensuring data integrity across financial systems.

Qualifications and Experience

Education

• A bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or a related discipline is required.

• A professional accounting qualification such as ACA, ACCA, CIMA, CPA, or an equivalent qualification is preferred.

Professional Experience

•  At least 8 years of progressive accounting experience.

• 3 to 5 or more years in a leadership or supervisory accounting role.

• Experience managing month-end, year-end, audit, and statutory reporting processes

• Experience in multinational or multi-entity environments is preferred.

Technical Skills

The position requires strong knowledge of IFRS and financial reporting standards

Advanced Excel skills

Experience with ERP systems with SAP B1 is highly preferred

Knowledge of consolidation and multi-company accounting

Experience with budgeting and forecasting processes.