Group Financial Reporting Manager

OUR MISSION

To become the car-changing destination of choice. By combining technology, media and deep automotive expertise, we've turned how people buy, sell, advertise and lease cars on its head.

What started as a simple reviews site is now one of the largest online car-changing destinations in Europe. Last year alone we grew over 50% with nearly £3bn worth of cars bought on site, while £1.8bn of cars were listed for sale through our Sell My Car service.

In 2024 we went big and acquired Autovia - creators of AutoExpress and Evo magazines - doubling our audience overnight. Together we now have one of the biggest YouTube channels in the world with almost 10m subscribers and over 1.1 billion annual views, while we sell 1.2 million print copies of our magazines and have an annual web content reach over 350million.

And we’re a long way from done!

Job Description & Requirements

Carwow is a high-growth automotive tech scale-up seeking a Group Financial Reporting Manager to lead external reporting across the group. Following a $52m investment in 2024 and achieving £85m in revenue (a 55% YoY increase), we're scaling rapidly and preparing for an IPO within the next 3-4 years.

Reporting to the Head of Finance, you'll be responsible for external reporting across the group, managing a team of one. You'll work closely with management accounting, corporate finance and finance operations.

Responsibilities

Financial Reporting & Control

• Lead the consolidation of financial results across multiple entities and geographies.

• Manage the group and subsidiary audits.

• Work with external advisers to manage the tax compliance across the group including, corporation tax, VAT, R&D, WHT and transfer pricing.

• Own the upcoming IFRS transition and in-house preparation of group financial statements.

• Responsible for payroll, other staff costs and below EBITDA accounting.

• Oversee the implementation and maintenance of robust accounting policies, including R&D capitalisation, revenue recognition, lease accounting and other key areas.

• Key role in establishing and maintaining a strong control environment appropriate for a business scaling towards IPO.

Leadership & Team Development

• Manage a part qualified ACA accountant, supporting their career development as they work towards qualification.

• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, collaboration, and ownership across the reporting function.

Systems, Processes & Governance

• Drive process automation and system optimisation to improve accuracy, scalability, and efficiency.

• Write and maintain detailed financial systems and process notes.

Business Partnership

• Collaborate cross-functionally with Management Accounting, Commercial Finance, and Finance Operations to ensure alignment between financial performance and strategic objectives.

• Lead initiatives to enhance financial literacy and accountability across the organization.

• Support with IPO readiness, M&A integration, and investor reporting.

Competencies

• Communication: Clear and confident communicator, both written and verbal, with the ability to distill complex financial information into concise, actionable insights for stakeholders at all levels.

• Team Management: Experience managing teams across audits or other project work

• Resilience & Self-Motivation: Balances attention to detail with an understanding of broader business objectives. Demonstrates resilience, focus, and self-motivation in high-pressure or fast-paced environments.

• Agility & Curiosity: Embraces change with a growth mindset. Leverages technology and innovative thinking to optimise processes and solve complex problems.

• Attention to Detail & Strategic Insight: Combines strong analytical discipline with the ability to operate at both strategic and operational levels—zooming out to understand business priorities while zooming in to identify process and system improvements that enhance overall performance.

Requirements

• Qualified Accountant (ACA, ACCA, or equivalent) with minimum 3 years post qualification experience

• Experience working with multinational, multicurrency groups.

• Strong technical accounting expertise (IFRS/UK GAAP) and experience with group consolidation and audit management.

• Hands-on experience with ERP systems (ideally NetSuite).

• Strategic mindset with excellent attention to detail and operational execution.

• Exceptional communicator and collaborator.

• Experience with M&A accounting & integration or accounts preparation is highly desirable.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU

• Hybrid working

• Competitive salary to fund that dream holiday to Bali

• Matched pension contributions for a peaceful retirement

• Share options - when we thrive, so do you!

• Vitality Private Healthcare, for peace of mind, plus eyecare vouchers

• Life Assurance for (even more) peace of mind

• Monthly coaching sessions with Spill - our mental wellbeing partner

• Enhanced holiday package, plus Bank Holidays

  • 28 days annual leave

  • 1 day for your wedding

  • 1 day off when you move house - because moving is hard enough without work!

  • For your third year anniversary, get 30 days of annual leave per year

  • For your tenth year anniversary, get 35 days of annual leave per year

  • Option to buy 3 extra days of holiday per year

• Work from abroad for a month

• Inclusive parental, partner and shared parental leave, fertility treatment and pregnancy loss policies

• Bubble childcare support and discounted nanny fees for little ones

• The latest tech (Macbook or Surface) to power your gif-sending talents

• Up to £500/€550 home office allowance for that massage chair you’ve been talking about

• Generous learning and development budget to help you master your craft

• Regular social events: tech lunches, coffee with the exec sessions, lunch 8 learns, book clubs, social events/anything else you pester us for

• Refer a friend, get paid. Repeat for infinite money

Diversity and inclusion is an integral part of our culture. We know that diverse teams are strong teams, so we welcome those with alternative identities, backgrounds, and experiences to apply for this position. We make recruiting decisions based on experience, skills and potential, so all our applicants are treated fairly and equally.