Job Title: US Accountant
Reporting to: US Finance Manager
Location: Head Office, White City Place, West London
Contract Type: Full Time, 37.5 Hours Per Week
About Us:
ME+EM is one of the UK’s fastest-growing luxury fashion brands, with a strong global digital presence and stores across the UK, including London and Edinburgh, alongside concessions within Harrods and Selfridges. We are also continuing our exciting international expansion across the U.S, with new stores opening across key markets.
At ME+EM we are an entrepreneurial, creative, and passionate group of people. We work hard, are enthusiastic to learn and are not afraid to take risks. Everyone contributes to our success at all levels, and that precisely what makes being a member of the team so rewarding.
Our office and stores are always busy and fast paced, but we work just as hard to make sure it’s fun, with social activities and biannual parties. We pride ourselves on being approachable, supportive, and welcoming and ensure that everyone’s hard work is rewarded. It takes all these things to build a strong, successful business and our door is always open to new talent ready to contribute to our growth and evolution.
About the Role
ME+EM is are looking for a US Accountant to join our US Finance team and own the technical accounting for our US entities. The role focuses on four areas: group and intercompany accounting, lease accounting for our US stores, fixed asset and CAPEX recognition, and US sales tax and customs duties. You will also contribute to the monthly close and management accounts, and support finance projects including our transition to Microsoft Dynamics 365. This is a hands-on role for someone with strong technical fundamentals who enjoys building processes from the ground up. You will work closely with Operations, Logistics, Ecommerce, Retail, Property and external advisers, and will be expected to explain accounting outcomes clearly to non-finance colleagues.
Responsibilities
Group Accounting and Intercompany
- Own intercompany accounting across ME+EM Ltd and the US entities, including recharges, balances, reconciliations and eliminations.
- Build and maintain an intercompany transaction matrix covering all entities, transaction types and payment flows.
- Prepare intercompany journals with full supporting schedules, and reconcile related bank payments to the correct entity and period.
- Maintain group reporting schedules (FX, cost allocations, recharges) to a standard ready for audit.
- Support consolidation and help standardise accounting treatment and policies across entities.
Lease Accounting
- Own lease and occupancy accounting for all existing and new US store locations.
- Maintain lease schedules covering straight-line rent, rent-free periods, stepped rent, and capital and tenant improvement allowances.
- Work with the Property team ahead of each new store opening to set up the lease accounting from commencement date.
- Post rent and occupancy entries and accruals accurately each month, and reconcile lease balances to the balance sheet.
- Assess the impact of changes to lease accounting standards on the US portfolio and recommend adjustments.
Fixed Assets and CAPEX Recognition
- Maintain the fixed asset register, capturing additions, disposals and depreciation each month.
- Apply the capitalisation policy consistently, including for store fit-outs and new openings.
- Reconcile the fixed asset register to the general ledger on a regular cycle and resolve differences.
- Track actual CAPEX spend against budget and explain variances.
US Sales and Use Tax
- Oversee multi-state sales and use tax compliance, working with our sales tax calculation software and the third-party partner who prepares and files our returns.
- Sense-check sales tax charged on the website against the tax software each month, confirming the correct rates and taxability are applied by state.
- Reconcile tax software data to the returns filed by our partner and to sales tax collected and remitted in the general ledger.
- Track the filing calendar and review filing and payment confirmations so every return is submitted and paid on time.
- Monitor economic and physical nexus as the business adds stores, pop-ups and online sales, and ensure new state registrations are set up in the tax software and with our filing partner.
- Respond to state notices and support sales tax audits, preparing schedules and supporting documentation.
US Customs Duties and Import Accounting
- Account for customs duties, freight and brokerage costs accurately and on time.
- Reconcile carrier, broker and customs invoices to shipment data and the ledger.
- Partner with Operations and Logistics to improve visibility and control over import costs and payables.
- Support the duty drawback programme with finance data and documentation.
- Produce reporting and analysis on duty and freight costs, including their impact on product margin.
- Provide duty and import cost inputs to the monthly management accounts, including commentary on movements.
Projects and Continuous Improvement
- Support the transition to Microsoft Dynamics 365 and related process changes.
- Improve and automate reporting using Excel and ERP functionality.
- Document finance processes and controls so they can be run and reviewed independently.
- Provide finance input to business initiatives such as ship from store, new store openings and new market launches.
Skills
- Strong core accounting: journals, accruals, balance sheet reconciliations and variance analysis.
- ACA or ACCA qualified with 1 to 2 years PQE, in industry or practice.
- Experience of intercompany accounting and group reporting, including recharges, reconciliations and eliminations.
- Working knowledge of lease accounting, including straight-line rent, rent-free periods and tenant incentives.
- Working knowledge of fixed asset accounting, including capitalisation, depreciation and tracking CAPEX against budget.
- Understanding of US sales and use tax, including nexus and reconciling tax collected to returns and the ledger.
- Understanding of customs duties and import cost accounting, or experience working with import documentation.
- Advanced Excel: pivot tables, lookups and confident handling of large datasets.
- Strong attention to detail, a control mindset and experience documenting processes.
- Clear communicator who can explain accounting outcomes to non-finance colleagues.
- Able to manage own workload, give proactive updates and flag risks to deadlines early.
- Multi-state US sales tax experience, including working with sales tax software and outsourced filing partners.
- Experience in retail, ecommerce, consumer brands or a fast‑growth business.
- Experience with Microsoft Dynamics 365 or a similar ERP.
Employee Benefits
- 33 days annual leave for full time employees (25 days holiday + 8 bank holidays)
- A day off to celebrate your birthday.
- Pension Scheme
- Group Life Insurance
- Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
- Length of Service Award
- Refer a Friend Scheme
- Staff uniform for retail employees
- Generous Staff and Friends and Family Discount
- Annual Volunteer Day
- Cycle to Work Scheme
- Tech Scheme
- Eye Care Vouchers
- Real Living Wage Employer
- Employee led committees
- Social events and biannual parties
- Enhanced maternity and paternity package after 2 years of service.
ME+EM is an equal opportunities employer committed to fostering and preserving a culture of diversity, equality, and inclusion in our workforce. As an equal opportunities’ employer, we do not discriminate against applicants based on race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. We believe that diversity enriches our workforce and strengthens our organisation. Therefore, we encourage minorities, LGBTQ+ candidates, and individuals with disabilities to apply for opportunities within our company.
Please note, due to the large number of applications we receive, we can only reply to those that are successful to the next stage.
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