Senior Accountant (Commodity Trading)

Centrica Energy (CE) is the trading arm of Centrica. We trade gas, power, LNG and provide the route to market for our upstream and power generation operations.

We are looking for an Senior Accountant to own the financial accounting and reporting for the London Commodity Trading business as well as the valuation of commodities and foreign exchange positions within Centrica Energy and other parts of Centrica. The role provides a fantastic opportunity to understand the complexities of a commodity trading business across a wide range of trading strategies and books. This role would suit a qualified accountant with excellent Excel skills and a passion for continuous improvement.

This is a 12 month fixed term contract / secondment opportunity.

The role holder will lead one of the Financial Control sub-teams in developing financial accounting, reporting and related control processes whilst maintaining an effective system of internal control to ensure integrity and accuracy of financial reporting throughout a sustained period of change.

This is a London (close to Marble Arch) based role with 3 days per week being office based.

The Job role:

Own the financial accounting, reporting and related control processes for the valuation of commodities and foreign exchange positions within Centrica Energy and other parts of the Centrica Group

Transform and modernise Financial Control processes including identifying processes that could be transferred offshore and support development of interfaces between the ERP (SAP) and trading source systems (Endur/Falcon), ensuring integrity and accuracy of financial reporting throughout a sustained period of change

Support the completion of stats for all Centrica Energy Entities with reference to derivative and fair value disclosures and adjustments. This includes providing commentary for Legal Entity team / Group BPM / Group Tax and liaising with auditors on questions on these entities

Own the FX Reporting for the Centrica Group including monitoring and helping set up the accounting of FX hedges for other areas of Centrica, as well as monitoring the 3 CE FX books to ensure they are accounted for correctly in SAP

Own and develop the Month-End Financial Control accounting processes including:

Journal upload & ensuring data integrity in SAP

Monthly reporting review process for P&L, Cashflow and Balance Sheet with Finance stakeholders

Reporting of FX positions working with Treasury

FX Hedge Accounting for CE and other Centrica businesses

Commodity Hedge Accounting for CE books

Group reporting requirements at Year End and Half Year for: Derivatives & Hedge Accounting; Fair Value of Financial Instruments; Financial Risk Management; and Commitments.

Support delivery of Year End and Interim audits. Create and manage good relationships with the external auditors

Develop effective working relationships with Business Finance and Product Control to ensure trading is accurately represented in the external reporting.

The Person:

Qualified Accountant.

Experience of physical and financial energy markets and accounting for transactions in these markets

Experience of FX trading and accounting for FX transactions

Understanding of trading concepts covering long/short positions; forwards/futures/ options/swaps; realised/unrealised positions; bid-offer spreads

Understanding of accounting for IFRS 9 Financial Instruments and IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement; derivatives; foreign currency transactions; revaluation; hedge accounting

Ability to process and interrogate large trade datasets (50,000+ rows) quickly through spreadsheet, Power Apps or other analysis tools

Experience with financial accounting and reporting systems e.g., SAP, BPC or similar systems

Ability to learn and understand commercial aspects and associated accounting for a variety of contract types

A process-focused individual with a passion for continuous improvement and ability to deliver change involving multiple stakeholders

A self-starter who can identify issues as they arise and resolve them with minimal involvement from manager

A team player who can collaborate with others as the need arises

Comfortable with ambiguity and calm under pressure with the ability to juggle and prioritise multiple deliverables with a high degree of self-management

Ability to present a complex subject in a clear and simple way.

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