Finance & Operations Accountant

Buckhill is a global technology company with offices in the UK and Croatia. As a strategic technology partner to the London Market, we deliver modern insurance solutions through agile, cross-functional delivery teams leveraging AI capabilities, a growing partner ecosystem, and a culture rooted in innovation and collaboration. We support continuous learning and invest in the growth of our Bucks, fostering an environment where people thrive. With the option for remote work, we've expanded our global footprint, building a diverse and multicultural team making a real impact.

You understand the numbers and you understand how a business runs. This is a role where you get to do both.

As Finance & Operations Accountant at Buckhill, you will be the finance function inside the business, working directly with our Chief Operating & Financial Officer, alongside our external accounting firm, which handles statutory accounting, tax filings and payroll for our Croatian entity.

The role has two phases. From February 2027 you will also provide cover for our Operations and Governance Manager during a 1-year planned leave, taking day-to-day responsibility for the governance controls around payments and banking and managing our Operations and Finance Associate. Once you have passed probation, you will be set up as an authorised bank signatory and will be trusted to handle payments, approvals and supplier relationships with care and accuracy.

When our colleague returns, the operational cover hands back and the role settles into its permanent shape: owning the internal finance function, including monthly management reporting, forecasting, budgeting and financial modelling, and acting as the bridge between the business, the external accountants and the leadership team. You will not need to prepare statutory accounts yourself, but you do need to understand them well enough to review the work of others and to know when something is wrong.

We are looking for a management accounting mindset with a solid technical foundation. Ideally, you trained or worked in practice, understand and can post technical accounting journals, VAT and Croatian statutory requirements, and have since moved into a role where you use the numbers to help a business make better decisions.

This role is based in Zagreb. The successful candidate must be able to work regularly from our Zagreb office and have the right to work in Croatia. We are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this position.

Ideal

• A degree in economics, accounting, finance or a related field, and fully qualified with CIMA or ACCA (or an equivalent recognised professional accounting qualification).

• Around four to six years of relevant experience, ideally combining time in an accounting practice with an in-house finance or management accounting role.

• Solid technical accounting knowledge, including Croatian statutory accounting, VAT and the requirements of a Croatian d.d. or d.o.o., and confidence posting journals and reconciling ledgers yourself.

• Hands-on experience with management reporting, budgeting and forecasting, and strong Excel and financial modelling skills.

• Proven judgement and integrity in handling payments, banking and confidential information, and comfort taking on signatory responsibility.

• A practical, organised approach and the willingness to pick up administrative and operational tasks when the business needs it.

• Fluent Croatian and professional working English, both written and spoken, as you will report to a UK-based COO/CFO and work with UK colleagues daily.

• Based in or able to relocate to Zagreb, with the right to work in Croatia.

Desirable

• Experience working in a group with entities in more than one country, including intercompany accounting and transfer pricing.

• Experience in a software, technology or professional services business, or with project and milestone-based revenue recognition.

• Familiarity with EU grant reporting or public funding compliance.

• Experience with cloud accounting systems and a willingness to use AI tools to improve the speed and quality of finance work.

• Exposure to company secretarial or governance work.

How we will support you
This is a broad role in a growing business, and we will make sure you are set up to succeed in it.

• A structured handover with our Operations and Governance Manager before her leave begins, so you inherit working processes rather than a blank page.

• Direct access to the COO and CFO function, with a clear review cadence in your first twelve months so expectations and progress remain explicit on both sides.

• Support for your continuing professional development, including funded continuing professional development relevant to the role.

• A supportive external accounting firm and colleagues across the UK and Croatia who know the business in depth.

If you want a finance role where you see the whole business, not just the ledger, and where your judgement is trusted from day one, this is it.

Finance accountabilities
Financial accounting and control

• Post journals, accruals, prepayments and intercompany entries into the accounting system and maintain accurate, reconciled ledgers on a monthly basis.

• Prepare and support Croatian VAT returns and other periodic filings in coordination with our external accountants, ensuring deadlines are met.

• Own the month-end close for the Croatian entity, including bank reconciliations, fixed asset register and balance sheet reviews.

• Manage accounts payable and receivable, including supplier invoice processing, client invoicing and credit control.

• Act as the day-to-day point of contact for our external accounting firm, reviewing their outputs and resolving queries so that statutory accounts and tax filings are right first time.

• Support the annual audit and statutory reporting cycle across the group, including intercompany reconciliations with our UK entities.

Financial planning, reporting and business partnering

• Produce the monthly management reporting pack for the COO and leadership team, with clear commentary on performance against budget and forecast.

• Maintain and update Buckhill’s internal financial models, including revenue, cost, cash flow and recruitment planning, keeping assumptions current and traceable.

• Support the annual budgeting process and rolling reforecasts, working with department leads to gather inputs and challenge assumptions.

• Monitor cash flow and prepare short-term cash forecasts to support payment planning and treasury decisions.

• Provide analysis and ad hoc financial insight to the leadership team, translating the numbers into practical recommendations.

• Contribute to board reporting, grant reporting and any due diligence.

Operations and governance accountabilities
These responsibilities are the primary focus during the 1-year planned leave period from February 2027. Thereafter you will retain oversight of the financial governance elements as part of the permanent finance role.

• Act as one of the authorised bank signatories for the Croatian entity, executing supplier, payroll and tax payments in line with approval limits and dual-control procedures.

• Own the payment approval process, ensuring every payment is properly authorised, supported and recorded, and that controls are followed without exception.

• Support & manage the Operations and Finance Associate with day-to-day office operations and administration for the Zagreb office, including supplier contracts, facilities, insurance renewals and company records.

• Maintain governance documentation such as registers, policies, board minutes and compliance filings, working with our GRC lead where they overlap.

• Coordinate with P&C and payroll providers on employee onboarding, contracts, benefits and payroll inputs, ensuring accuracy and confidentiality.

• Keep operational processes documented and running smoothly so that a clean handover is possible in both directions.