Senior Accountant - Management Accounting

We’re Pentland Brands: a global family business behind some of the world’s most iconic active and lifestyle brands. We bring integrity, energy and ambition to our work, setting high standards and striving to deliver great outcomes without ego.Design cycling apparel built for movement, endurance and the ride ahead.At Pentland Brands, every role helps move our brands forward. Whether you’re supporting our people, improving our systems, growing our commercial performance, strengthening operations or shaping better ways of working, your impact reaches across a portfolio of iconic brands used by consumers around the world.The Senior Accountant, Management Accounting acts as the lead for assigned EMEA Management Accounting work pods, coordinating day-to-day delivery, providing first-line work scope review and ensuring accurate, timely and well-controlled financial results. The role also provides process leadership within the pod: driving deliverables to the close calendar, reviewing the quality of the team’s work, improving and automating processes, and partnering with business and finance stakeholders to resolve issues at source.The role provides Functional guidance, coaching and support to pod colleagues but does not carry formal line-management responsibility. People management, including performance appraisal and formal development decisions, remains with the Senior Manager, Management Accounting – EMEA.The Senior Accountant takes ownership of the pod’s numbers: leading the pod’s month-end review, explaining actuals in detail and confidently articulating key movements and variances.The Senior Accountant is a and first-line reviewer within the Bangalore GCC. The role builds end-to-end accounting ownership in the pod, provides process guidance and coaching to pod colleagues, and acts as a key link to regional Finance, FP&A, Group Reporting and operational stakeholders.What you’ll be doing:Pod leadership and deliveryCoordinate day-to-day delivery for the assigned EMEA Management Accounting work pod as a functional Pod leader, agreeing priorities and allocating work, and ensuring deliverables are completed accurately and on time.Act as first-line reviewer of outputs (reconciliations, journals, accruals, provisions and schedules), providing guidance and coaching to colleagues to raise quality and reduce rework.Act as the pod’s point of escalation: identify risks to accuracy or timelines early, resolve issues at source and escalate to the Senior Manager, Management Accounting – EMEA where needed.Track and report KPIs (close timetable adherence, reconciliation completion and quality, manual journal volumes, rework) and drive corrective action.2. Financial close and management accountsDrive pod execution of monthly, quarterly and annual close to the agreed close calendar, managing task dependencies, cut-off and hand-offs with Group Reporting, FP&A and regional Finance.Own the numbers: lead the pod’s month-end review, taking accountability for the accuracy, completeness and reasonableness of balances and results before submission.Prepare and review journals, accruals, prepayments, provisions, cut-off and close reconciliations, ensuring accuracy, supporting documentation and consistent application of Group accounting policies.Ensure complete and timely submission of actuals and management accounts to Reporting and FP&A, reviewing for completeness, consistency and reasonableness.Investigate and explain P&L and balance sheet variances to forecast, budget and prior year, confidently articulating actuals, key movements and variances (including run-rate versus one-off items) to regional Finance, FP&A and Group Reporting, and prepare clear commentary that helps regional Finance partners take decisions.3. Balance sheet integrity and financial controlsEnsure balance sheet reconciliations in the pod are completed on time, substantiated, aged and followed through to clearance, with corrective actions tracked to closure.Operate and evidence key controls (journal approval, segregation of duties and Finance DoA), monitor exceptions and support sustainable remediation of findings.Support internal and external audit with timely, complete evidence and implement audit findingsApply accounting policies consistently and raise complex or judgemental accounting positions to the Senior Manager, Management Accounting – EMEA4. Inventory, gross margin and working-capital accounting (as assigned to the pod)Support operational accounting and controls for stock valuation, standard costing, provisions, obsolescence, stock in transit and cut-off, including landed costs, freight, duty and purchase-price variances.Reconcile operational inventory and sub-ledger systems to the general ledger and partner with Supply Chain, Operations and Commercial Finance to resolve differences and risks.Support accuracy of accounting and submissions relating to cash, receivables, payables and other working-capital drivers, explaining material movements and reconciliation differences.5. Process leadership, automation and continuous improvementOwn and maintain process documentation for the pod (desk procedures, close checklists and review standards), and drive standardisation and consistency across regions.Identify and deliver process improvement and automation opportunitiesSupport systems and process changes, including testing and adoption6. Business partnership and stakeholder managementPartner with regional Finance, FP&A, Commercial Finance, Supply Chain, Operations and Group Reporting, understanding their needs and resolving queries promptly and accurately.Communicate status, risks and timelines clearly and proactively with stakeholders in the UK and regions and take part in close calls and reviews.Support forecast and budget cycles with accurate accounting inputs and clear explanations of run-rate and one-off items.7. Process Guidance, coaching and ways of workingProvide process guidance, coaching and feedback to colleagues, and provide input on their performance and development to the Senior Manager, Management Accounting – EMEACross-train and build backup coverage within the pod, contributing to succession depth and the development of future pod leaders.Support the team through change, new tools and evolving ways of working, helping to maintain engagement, retention and quality.Contribute to a culture of integrity, ownership, technical challenge, continuous improvement and inclusive collaboration.What you’ll bring:Essential qualifications and experienceQualified Chartered Accountant (CA, ICAI) with 6+ years of relevant experience in management accounting, financial control or financial reporting.Proven experience of month-end and quarter-end close and preparation of management accounts, ideally within a multi-entity, multi-currency international organisation.Strong knowledge of balance sheet reconciliations, accounting policy and financial controls, with the ability to analyse and explain variances.Experience as a senior member of a team or work stream, reviewing the work of others, leading month-end reviews and confidently explaining actuals, movements and variances, and delivering to tight deadlines.Demonstrated delivery of process improvement or automation that reduced manual effort or improved control.Hands-on experience of SAP and a close, consolidation or reconciliation tool, with strong Excel skills and working knowledge of Power BI or equivalent analytics tools.Strong communication and stakeholder skills, with the confidence to challenge constructively and work with finance and business partners across geographies.Desirable experienceConsumer brands, retail, wholesale or inventory-intensive businesses.Experience of finance operating models involving India-based GCCProcess transition, automation or finance systems transformation.Experience with IFRS, statutory requirements and audit support.Exposure to analytics or AI-enabled finance tools.Why Pentland Brands?Pentland Brands is the name behind some of the world’s best-known sport, outdoor and lifestyle brands, including Speedo, Berghaus, Canterbury, Endura, Ellesse, Kickers and Mitre.We are a global family business with a clear purpose: pioneering brands that make life better. Across our teams, functions and locations, we work together to create products, experiences and partnerships that help people live more active, confident and positive lives.Joining Pentland Brands means becoming part of a business where your work can have real reach, across multiple brands, markets, teams and disciplines. It is a place for people who want to contribute, collaborate, improve how things are done and help build the future of brands with heritage, ambition and global impact.Perks & BenefitsAlongside a competitive salary and discretionary bonus, we offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your wellbeing, flexibility, and life outside work. This includes generous holiday allowance, hybrid and flexible working, employee transportation, pension and gratuity contributions, wellbeing support, medical, personal accident & term life insurance cover.The Interview ProcessWe want our interview process to feel clear, straightforward, and supportive. If your experience and expectations look like a strong match for the role, here’s what you can expect next:Talent Team Intro Call - A 30-minute video call with our Talent Team to get to know each other, talk through the role and your experience, and answer any questions you have.Experience Interview - A more in-depth interview (usually online) with the hiring manager to explore your skills, experience and approach, and how these align with the role, our principles, and our ways of working.Final Interview - A final in-person interview at our office, focused on deeper discussion and practical application, giving you the chance to meet more of the team and see Pentland Brands in action.