When a growing Lincolnshire manufacturer approached Benjamin Edwards Recruitment, they hoped to find a management accountant with sector-specific experience. The person they eventually appointed came from accountancy practice.
Their experience was quite different from what the client had originally envisaged, but the conversation about their work and career aspirations was a very good fit. They had a solid finance background and wanted to be more involved in one business.
Understanding What the Business Needed
The business needed someone who could own monthly management accounts, provide meaningful financial analysis, support budgeting and forecasting, and work closely with operational teams to improve financial reporting and decision-making.
Experience within manufacturing was desirable, particularly given the importance of understanding margins, cost of sales and operational performance. However, finding someone with the right technical skills, commercial awareness and personality was equally important.
This was a new client relationship, so we took the time to get to know the business and its finance team. Our specific recruitment approach enabled us to understand not only the job description but also the business, its culture, and the type of individual who would thrive in the team.
Recognising a Candidate Ready for the Move to Management Accountant
Through our candidate network, we identified a senior finance professional in accountancy practice looking to move into industry who would make a strong management accountant. They were used to working with a variety of businesses, understanding their accounts, and handling a range of financial reporting requirements. It involved analysing information, solving problems, and explaining outcomes to clients, all while juggling competing deadlines.
For their next one, they wanted to go further, look beyond the reporting stage, and move into a management accounting role. They wanted to get to know one business in far more detail, build relationships with the operational teams, and see the effect their input had on decisions. The manufacturing role gave them that opportunity. The issue was how well their previous skills and experience would transfer into a new environment.
Exploring How Their Experience Would Translate
We reviewed examples of how the candidate had approached unfamiliar businesses, analysed variances, and explained financial performance. We also looked at how they built working relationships and handled situations where they had to learn something new.
We worked with the client to develop interview questions and practical exercises aligned with the role requirements. These explored how the candidate would interpret business data, solve problems, and work with colleagues across departments. The reference checks gave us further insight into their working style and flexibility. This gave the client a much clearer picture of what the candidate could bring to the role. The candidate needed to learn the manufacturing processes they would work with, but they had a solid technical base and clear experience applying it in a variety of business contexts.
From Appointment to Early Impact
The candidate was appointed as Management Accountant and was given a structured onboarding plan. They were introduced to the business’s systems and processes, paired with an internal mentor, and had regular check-ins to ask questions as they got up to speed. In the first few months, they helped streamline the monthly management accounts and improved the quality of the cost analysis. The client said they’d got on very well with the finance and ops people, brought a new perspective, and identified some cost-saving opportunities.
Their ability to explain the financial findings in a way that was accessible to colleagues in other areas of the business was also a big help in terms of getting that information used in decision-making. For the candidate, it was an opportunity to develop commercial finance experience and be part of the business whose accounts they were preparing. For the client, it was someone who could take ownership of the role and grow with the business.
What Made the Match Work
The client was happy to consider a different career background, and the candidate had a strong reason for wanting to make the move. It took us a while to consider both options, and that’s what helped us see the match we might have missed if manufacturing experience had been a hard-and-fast requirement.
Industry knowledge is still very valuable. This appointment is a case in point for why it’s worth looking at how someone thinks, communicates, learns, and what they’re looking for in their next job. For Benjamin Edwards, it was a good start to a new client relationship and a chance to help a finance professional take the next step in their career.
Looking to recruit a Management Accountant?
Benjamin Edwards Recruitment can help you work through what your business needs for its next senior finance appointment. Whether that’s a Management Accountant, Finance Manager, Financial Controller or Finance Director, get in touch with us to discuss how we can find the right person for the job.
