Full job descriptionSenior Management Accountant
Metropolitan Police Service
Band U
Location: London
Salary: Starting salary £77,775, including allowances totalling £3,009. This comprises £74,766 basic salary, rising annually to £82,362, plus £2,009 location allowance and £1,000 non-pensionable allowance.
Contract: Permanent


The opportunity
The Metropolitan Police Service is one of the UK’s most significant public service organisations, serving millions across one of the world’s most diverse and complex cities. Its work has a direct impact on public safety, community confidence and effective running.


Finance plays a central role in supporting that mission. The Met needs reliable information, reporting and meaningful insight to help leaders understand performance, manage risk and make informed decisions about resources.


As Senior Management Accountant, you will lead robust and timely management information across key business areas. You will oversee monthly management accounts, forecasts, dashboards and analysis, ensuring senior stakeholders have a clear view of the financial position, key risks and opportunities, and the story behind the numbers.


This is an opportunity for a qualified or part-qualified finance professional who enjoys turning data into insight, leading teams and improving decisions in a large public service environment.


About the Metropolitan Police
The Met is London’s police service, serving a city of exceptional scale, complexity and diversity. Its officers and staff work every day to keep people safe, respond to changing demand and build trust with the communities they serve.


For finance professionals, this is an opportunity to apply technical expertise where strong financial management supports operational delivery, planning and better outcomes for Londoners. The Met is modernising its corporate services, with Finance focused on customer support, trusted data and better insight.


About the role
Reporting into the Head of MAI, you will be responsible for understanding and reporting the financial position for the business area or areas you support. You will provide clear analysis of performance, draw out themes, identify risks and opportunities, and ensure reporting reflects both the detail of the business area and the wider financial position.


You will work closely with budget managers, Senior Finance Business Partners, Met Business Services, Financial Accounting, Commercial and Strategic Finance. This will include month-end reporting, reviewing data, preparing accruals, monitoring contracts and sharing insight to support funding requirements and budget setting.


This is also a leadership role. You will manage a team of Management Accountants, setting standards, supporting development and ensuring the team delivers a consistent, high-quality service.


Key responsibilities
• Lead monthly management accounts, forecasts, dashboards and financial reporting.
• Analyse complex financial information, identifying risks, issues, opportunities and value-for-money considerations.
• Translate financial data into meaningful outputs and concise narratives for senior leaders and budget holders.
• Monitor and challenge financial and commercial performance, addressing underperformance where required.
• Work with Commercial colleagues to monitor contracts, procurement activity and purchase-to-pay compliance.
• Share historic and in-year analysis with Strategic Finance to support scenario planning, future funding requirements and budget setting.
• Respond to internal and external commissions, often within short timeframes, with accurate financial information.
• Lead, coach and develop Management Accountants, building a culture of high standards, improvement and excellent service.


About you
You will be a CCAB, CIMA or equivalent qualified accountant, or in exceptional circumstances working towards qualification, with strong experience in financial management, management accounting and reporting.


You will bring experience of working with large or complex budgets and providing insight that supports decision-making. You will be comfortable with senior stakeholders, challenging data quality where needed and ensuring reporting is clear, accurate and useful.


You will also offer:
• At least three years’ financial experience in a relevant environment.
• Strong management accounting, forecasting and reporting capability.
• Experience of providing insightful management information to support business decisions.
• Effective data visualisation skills, with the ability to make reporting tell a clear story.
• Experience of leading, managing or influencing large and complex budgets.
• Line management experience, with the ability to coach and develop finance professionals.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, including the ability to build effective relationships with business areas and enabling services.
• The confidence to challenge financial data, assumptions and performance constructively.
• A continuous improvement mindset, with the ability to standardise processes and improve service delivery.


Why join the Metropolitan Police Service?
This role offers the chance to use your management accounting expertise in an organisation where financial insight supports decisions with real public impact. Your team will help leaders understand performance, manage resources effectively and make better decisions for the communities London serves.


For a finance professional, the scale and complexity of the Met create a genuinely interesting environment. You will work across large budgets, complex operational demands and multiple stakeholder groups, where the quality of reporting, forecasting and financial narrative really matters.


By improving financial transparency, supporting value for money and strengthening management information, you will help the organisation make better use of public funds. This is a strong opportunity for someone who enjoys combining technical finance, team leadership and business-facing insight.