Accountant - Group & Australia Operations

Location: Sydney preferred; open to candidates Australia-wide

About the role

This role operates on a one-client model where you'll own the Australian and consolidated group accounting function for a single high-value client while directing an offshore accountant based in India. You'll be the primary in-market accounting lead executing and quality-controlling the full month-end close, managing the relationship with external tax advisors, and coordinating payroll across multiple jurisdictions. You own the numbers, own the close, and own compliance, directing and reviewing your offshore resource so your time is spent on technical judgement and client engagement, not just transactional processing. As the client relationship matures and broader book grows, this role has a clear path to variety down the track. Strong performers can expect to take on additional clients, mentor other Accountants, or step into portfolio-wide oversight.

Key responsibilities

• Month-end close & balance sheet integrity - full close process, accruals/deferrals, lease accounting, FX revaluation, balance sheet reconciliations, end-to-end ownership and sign-off

• Consolidation & reporting - first-pass group consolidations (Fathom/Xero), management and statutory reporting packs

• Variance analysis & planning - budget/forecast variance analysis, board deck financial commentary

• AP & AR management - end-to-end ownership, new AP tool rollout, policies and approval matrices

• Tax compliance & coordination - BAS/IAS lodgements, liaising with external tax advisors

• Payroll oversight - coordinating multi-jurisdiction payroll (Australia, India), payroll tax and super compliance

• Offshore resource management - directing and reviewing the India-based accountant's work, taking accountability for accuracy before it reaches the client

• Process & systems improvement - documenting processes, driving automation and standardisation

• Financial control & governance - flagging control gaps early, structured reporting to the Finance Manager

About you

• CA or CPA qualified

• Genuine, end-to-end ownership of the accounting function in a prior role not just preparing work for someone else's review

• Strong technical grounding accounting standards, balance sheet recs, accruals, revenue recognition, statutory reporting

• Confidence directing and reviewing offshore or outsourced resources able to take full accountability for the accuracy of their output

• Proven tax compliance and BAS/IAS experience

• Strong Xero (or similar) skills

• Excellent Excel skills

• Confident working directly with client stakeholders on technical matters

• Comfortable with ambiguity able to build processes in a growing business

• A track record of staying in roles long enough to build genuine ownership (3+ years in most recent role)

What the Client Offers

• Stability of a single client relationship, with the ownership and depth that comes from focusing on one business rather than spreading thin across many

• A clear path to variety as the relationship and MSJ's client base grow additional clients, mentoring, or broader portfolio oversight for strong performers

• Genuine autonomy to build processes and standards from the ground up

• The chance to build and scale an offshore delivery function in India, not just inherit one

• Backing from a senior finance leadership team - Finance Manager oversight plus CFO-level strategic support

• A firm genuinely built on integrity, accountability and investment in people