Specialist, Accounting Operations

About Us

McDonalds has run its business in the UK since 1974 and currently operates over 1500 restaurants across the UK and Ireland, serving almost four million customers each day. McDonalds is one of the UKs largest private sector employers, employing over 170,000 people.

Department Overview

• 12-month fixed-term contract opportunity*

Are you a qualified accountant (or currently working towards qualification) who enjoys solving complex problems, improving processes, and partnering with stakeholders to deliver business results?

This is an exciting opportunity to join the UK & Ireland Local Accounting Operations (LAO) team at a time of significant transformation. As part of a globally evolving Accounting Operations function, you'll play a critical role in ensuring the integrity of financial reporting, strengthening controls, and driving operational excellence across the business.

More than a traditional accounting role, you'll act as a trusted partner to Finance and Controllership teams, working at the centre of operations, governance, and continuous improvement. You'll collaborate with senior stakeholders, influence service delivery outcomes, and help shape the future direction of Accounting Operations as we build a more connected, scalable, and world-class finance organisation.

Duties

Own Financial Outcomes

• Partner closely with the Assistant Financial Controller to manage escalations, resolve operational challenges, and ensure the smooth delivery of accounting operations across the UK & Ireland market.
• Play a key role in ensuring accurate, timely, and compliant financial statements and reporting outputs, maintaining strong governance, controls, and financial reporting integrity.
• Take ownership for coordinating accounting outcomes across multiple delivery teams, ensuring accountability for financial results, service quality, and control effectiveness.
• Support key controllership activities across Account-to-Report (A2R), Order-to-Cash (OTC), Procure-to-Pay (P2P), and Record-to-Report (R2R) processes.

Be a Trusted Business Partner

• Serve as a key point of contact for Market Finance, Controllers, Corporate stakeholders, and third-party service providers.
• Build strong relationships across Finance and the wider business, providing insight, guidance, and operational support on accounting and financial control matters.
• Influence decision-making by bringing together stakeholders to resolve complex operational and accounting challenges.

Drive Operational Excellence

• Lead the day-to-day relationship with third-party accounting providers, ensuring high-quality service delivery and strong alignment to business priorities.
• Monitor, challenge, and continuously improve the accuracy, quality, and timeliness of accounting activities.
• Identify opportunities to simplify processes, improve controls, enhance reporting quality, and reduce manual effort.
• Support the development of scalable, standardised ways of working that improve efficiency and stakeholder experience.

Champion Governance, Controls & Compliance

• Perform key in-market accounting, audit, tax, and statutory activities requiring local market knowledge and professional judgement.
• Support balance sheet governance, reconciliations, and financial control activities that underpin reporting integrity.
• Lead the resolution of accounting exceptions, disputes, and judgement-based transactions through established governance and escalation frameworks.
• Help maintain a robust control environment that supports compliance and protects the integrity of financial reporting.

Help Build the Future

• Share best practices and support collaboration across markets and teams.
• Contribute to the evolution of a globally connected Accounting Operations organisation.
• Play an active role in driving transformation initiatives and improving how accounting services are delivered across the business.

Qualifications

Essential

• Professionally qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, or CIMA) or actively studying towards qualification, with experience in accounting operations, financial control, controllership, or financial reporting environments.
• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business Administration, or a related discipline.
• Strong understanding of accounting principles, financial controls, month-end close processes, and financial reporting requirements.
• Experience working with third-party service providers, shared services, or outsourced finance operations.
• Excellent stakeholder management and business partnering skills.
• Strong analytical, organisational, and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver results in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Preferred

• Experience working within a large, complex, multinational organisation.
• Exposure to controllership, statutory reporting, audit, or compliance activities.
• Experience with Oracle Fusion or similar ERP platforms.
• Experience leading process improvement, automation, or transformation initiatives.

At McDonald's, we are People from all Walks of Life...

Company Vision and Culture

Our Global vision is to build a better McDonalds and in the UK and Ireland we are working hard to be the UK & Irelands best-loved restaurant company.

McDonalds is defined by its culture. Our culture shapes and informs everything we think and everything we do. Our culture influences the way we interact with each other, and how we interact with customers, franchisees and suppliers. Our culture motivates and inspires us to attract and retain great talent, creating positive, energising, exceptional working environment for us all.

Our values drive our culture and shape our beliefs, our priorities and our actions. They influence the decisions we make, how we treat one another and how we show up as a brand to the world.

Serve: We put our customers and our people first

Inclusion: We open our doors to everyone

Integrity: We do the right thing

Community: We are good neighbours

Family: We get better together

At McDonalds we are People from all Walks of Life...

People are at the heart of everything we do, and they make the McDonalds experience. We embrace diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive culture that means people can be their best authentic self in our restaurants and offices, which helps us to better serve our customers.

We have a strong heritage of diversity and representation within our communities, which we are proud of. The diversity of our people, customers, Franchisees and suppliers gives us strength.

We do not tolerate inequality, injustice or discrimination of any kind. These are hugely important issues and a brand with our reach and relevance means we have a very meaningful role to play.

We also recognise our responsibility as a large employer to continue being active in our communities, helping to develop skills and drive aspirations that will help people to be more aware of the world of work and more successful within it, whether with McDonalds or elsewhere.