Head of Technical Accounting & Entity Structure

Wood Group

5d•Onsite

About The Position

Remarkable people, trusted by clients to design and advance the world. Wood has an exciting opportunity a Head of Technical Accounting & entity structure to join Group Finance Function us on a permanent basis. The role acts as the Group’s subject matter expert on complex technical accounting matters and is responsible for the review, optimisation and governance of the Group’s legal entity and intercompany financing structures. This position will be based in the UK, and we encourage applications from colleagues within the region. The Role You will be accountable for ensuring that the Group’s entity structure, capitalisation and intercompany arrangements are appropriately designed, technically sound, tax‑efficient and compliant with IFRS, local statutory requirements and internal governance policies. This includes leading and / or reviewing entity goodwill impairment assessments, balance sheet recapitalisations and entity restructurings and reductions Working closely with the entity reduction programme, Group Treasury and Group Tax, the role provides technical accounting leadership to support simplification, cost reduction and balance sheet optimisation initiatives, while safeguarding reporting integrity and audit robustness. You will plays a lead role in simplifying the Group’s entity structure and ensuring the financing activities are correctly reflected in the Group’s financial statements and statutory accounts. The role exercises significant influence over the Group’s technical accounting positions, legal entity architecture and intercompany financing design, providing authoritative recommendations on complex accounting matters and structural decisions, within the framework of IFRS, statutory requirements and Group governance, and materially influences balance sheet outcomes and audit conclusion.

Requirements

Degree qualified
Professionally qualified accountant (e.g. ICAEW, ICAS, ACCA, CPA)
Significant experience in technical accounting within a large, complex multinational group or professional services environment
Deep technical knowledge of IFRS, particularly business combinations, impairments, group restructuring and intragroup financing
Proven experience supporting or leading legal entity rationalisation and balance sheet optimisation projects
Strong understanding of intercompany financing, capital structures and treasury‑related accounting issues
Experience preparing high‑quality technical accounting papers and engaging with external auditors
Ability to work effectively across finance, tax, treasury and legal functions
Highly analytical with strong professional judgement and attention to detail
Credible technical adviser, confident challenging assumptions and articulating conclusions clearly
Proactive, resilient and comfortable operating in complex, ambiguous environments
Strong collaborator with the ability to influence senior stakeholders
Committed to maintaining high standards of governance, control and financial reporting integrity
Excellent communicator with the ability to articulate messaging clearly
Role model for Wood’s values and behaviours

Responsibilities

Act as the Group technical accounting SME for complex and judgemental accounting areas, including business combinations, goodwill and impairment, capital structure changes, intragroup funding and restructurings
Prepare and review formal technical accounting papers to support significant accounting judgements and conclusions under IFRS
Provide authoritative advice to Group Finance, regional finance teams and senior leadership on new and emerging accounting standards and their impact on the Group
Develop and lead training programmes for key accounting topics within Wood Group for key areas of accounting, e.g. IRFS15 Revenue recognition
Review and assess the appropriateness of the Group’s legal entity structure, identifying opportunities for simplification, rationalisation and risk reduction
Partner with stakeholders to lead planned liquidations, mergers, migrations and other corporate restructurings, ensuring accounting impacts are fully assessed and executed
Oversee accounting considerations arising from entity disposals, wind‑ups and reorganisations, including reserves, foreign currency translation and loss recognition
Review and optimise intercompany financing arrangements in collaboration with Group Treasury and Group Tax, ensuring structures are clearly documented, defensible and compliant with IFRS and transfer pricing principles
Partner with Tax, Treasury and Legal / Corporate Governance to Design controls to ensure intercompany funding structures have appropriate approvals / governance
Assess accounting implications of intragroup loans, cash pooling, guarantees and funding instruments, including classification, measurement and disclosure
Support the design and execution of recapitalisations, refinancing and other balance sheet optimisation initiatives at entity and Group level
Lead for developing Parent company guarantee (PCG’s) process and policy ensuring suitable PCG entities within the Group and regional structure
Act as a key technical contact for external auditors on complex accounting matters relating to restructurings, intercompany arrangements and impairments
Ensure strong governance, controls and documentation over technical accounting judgements and structural changes
Support Board reporting on significant accounting matters, entity restructuring activity and balance sheet risks
Work closely with Group Treasury on funding structures, covenant considerations and capital planning
Partner with Group Tax to ensure alignment between legal entity architecture, tax strategy and accounting outcomes
Collaborate with Legal, external advisers and regional finance teams to ensure coordinated execution of structural changes