Senior Accountant, Serviced Apartments Hospitality, Abuja At Nicole Sinclair Consulting Nicole Sinclair Consulting
full-time
Our client is a well-established, premier hospitality company specialising in furnished and serviced apartments in Abuja. With a legacy spanning more than twenty years, the property has built a strong reputation for accommodation and guest services to business travellers, health tourists, vacationers, families, and conference organisers.
The business already has an established operating structure and a functioning finance team in place. It is now entering a phase focused on sharpening commercial strategy, strengthening financial governance, and building the systems and insight required to scale sustainably. This is a senior management position for an experienced finance leader who can operate well beyond routine accounting; someone who brings strategic financial management, commercial judgement, and leadership to the function.
WHAT THEY STAND FOR
Integrity and accountability, maintaining clean financial records, transparent reporting and strong controls.
Excellence as a standard of accurate, timely and reliable financial reporting and decision support.
Commercial discipline, controlling costs and optimising margins without compromising guest experience.
Sustainable growth, ensuring the business has the financial strategy, visibility and controls required to scale.
THE ROLE DESCRIPTION-
The Senior Accountant is a senior management position and a strategic partner to the General Manager and the wider leadership team. Rather than performing day-to-day bookkeeping, the role directs and leads the existing finance and accounts team, providing financial strategy, commercial insight, governance and decision support across the business. The successful candidate will own financial planning and analysis, revenue and profitability strategy, cash and working capital management, risk and controls, and statutory compliance, shaping the financial direction of the business, not just reporting on it. The role works closely with the General Manager, ownership, and operational department heads to drive performance, protect value and position the business for sustainable growth.
KEY DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
STRATEGIC FINANCIAL LEADERSHIP & BUSINESS PARTNERING
Serve as a strategic finance partner to the General Manager and senior management team, translating financial data into actionable business insight.
Lead development of the property's financial strategy in support of long-term growth and profitability objectives.
Provide financial input into major operational, commercial and investment decisions, including pricing strategy, capital expenditure and expansion opportunities.
Advise ownership and management on the financial implications of strategic initiatives, new revenue lines and operational changes.
Champion a culture of financial discipline, accountability and commercial awareness across all departments.
FINANCIAL PLANNING, ANALYSIS & PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
Direct the preparation of monthly management accounts, board packs and performance reports, ensuring accuracy and strategic relevance.
Lead financial planning and analysis (FP&A) activity, including scenario planning, sensitivity analysis and long-range forecasting.
Analyse revenue, cost and margin performance across accommodation, F&B, events and ancillary revenue streams, identifying trends and opportunities.
Own the annual budgeting process end to end, working with department heads to build realistic, growth-oriented budgets.
Present financial performance and key business insights to ownership and senior management, highlighting risks, opportunities and recommended actions.
REVENUE STRATEGY & COMMERCIAL PERFORMANCE
Partner with the General Manager and front-office/revenue teams on pricing strategy, rate structures and revenue management to optimise occupancy and RevPAR.
Oversee reconciliation of PMS, POS and accounting records to safeguard revenue integrity across all guest-facing departments.
Evaluate profitability of accommodation, F&B, events and ancillary services, and recommend strategies to grow high-margin revenue streams.
Provide commercial and financial analysis to support corporate and long-stay contract negotiations.
Identify and address revenue leakage, discounting patterns and pricing anomalies at a strategic level.
COST LEADERSHIP & PROFITABILITY MANAGEMENT
Set the framework for cost management across the business, balancing cost efficiency with guest experience and service standards.
Lead departmental cost reviews, identifying structural cost-saving and efficiency opportunities.
Oversee procurement and inventory strategy to ensure cost-effective purchasing without compromising quality.
Drive profitability analysis across revenue and cost centres, guiding management decisions on resource allocation.
Benchmark cost and margin performance against industry standards to identify improvement opportunities.
CASH FLOW, TREASURY & WORKING CAPITAL MANAGEMENT
Oversee cash flow planning and treasury management to ensure the business maintains healthy liquidity.
Manage banking relationships and oversee financing arrangements where applicable.
Monitor working capital, including receivables, payables and inventory, to optimize cash conversion.
Provide oversight of the accounts payable and receivable functions, ensuring strong collections and payment discipline.
Advise management on funding requirements for capital projects and expansion initiatives.
GOVERNANCE, RISK & INTERNAL CONTROLS
Design, implement and continuously strengthen the internal control environment across revenue, expenditure, procurement, inventory and cash.
Lead risk identification and mitigation across financial and operational risk areas.
Ensure appropriate segregation of duties, approval hierarchies and financial policies are upheld across the business.
Oversee investigation of significant variances, control breaches or irregularities, and lead corrective action.
Ensure the business maintains audit-ready financial records at all times.
TEAM LEADERSHIP & FINANCE FUNCTION DEVELOPMENT
Lead, mentor and develop the existing finance and accounts team, building capability and succession depth.
Set clear performance expectations, review team output and drive continuous improvement in accuracy and turnaround.
Establish and maintain finance policies, procedures and standard operating processes across the function.
Foster collaboration between finance and operational departments (front office, F&B, housekeeping, procurement, HR).
Represent the finance function in senior management meetings and cross-functional initiatives.
TAX, STATUTORY COMPLIANCE & AUDIT
Ensure full compliance with applicable Nigerian tax and statutory requirements, overseeing timely filing and remittance.
Own the relationship with external auditors, tax consultants and regulatory bodies.
Lead year-end audit processes, ensuring timely completion and resolution of audit findings.
Maintain financial records and reporting in line with applicable accounting standards.
Monitor regulatory developments relevant to the hospitality sector and advise management accordingly.
SYSTEMS, TECHNOLOGY & PROCESS TRANSFORMATION
Drive the integration and optimisation of PMS, POS and accounting systems to improve reporting accuracy and efficiency.
Champion automation of repetitive financial processes to free capacity for higher-value analysis.
Develop finance dashboards and reporting tools that give management real-time visibility into performance.
Lead process-improvement initiatives to enhance the speed, accuracy and reliability of financial information.
Document and institutionalise finance policies and procedures to ensure consistency as the business scales.
QUALIFICATIONS/ EXPERIENCE/ KNOWLEDGE
ROLE REQUIREMENTS
Minimum of 12 - 15 years' progressive finance/accounting experience, including significant experience at a senior management level.
At least 5 - 7 years in a Senior Accountant, Head of Finance, Finance Manager or equivalent leadership role, with direct oversight of a finance team.
Demonstrable experience in hospitality, hotels, serviced apartments or another high-volume, multi-revenue-stream service environment is strongly preferred.
Proven track record of strategic financial leadership and business partnering, driving commercial performance rather than purely transactional accounting.
Strong experience in financial planning & analysis (FP&A), budgeting, forecasting and cost management at a senior level.
Experience presenting financial performance and strategic recommendations to senior management, ownership or a board.
Sound understanding of hospitality revenue models, PMS/POS systems and multi-department revenue reconciliation.
Strong knowledge of treasury, cash flow management and working capital optimisation.
Strong understanding of Nigerian tax and statutory compliance requirements.
Demonstrated experience leading, developing and managing a finance team.
Proficiency in accounting software, financial modelling and Microsoft Excel.
Strong strategic thinking, analytical and problem-solving skills, balanced with attention to operational detail.
High level of integrity, accountability and professional judgement.
Strong leadership, communication and stakeholder-management skills.
EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
A good first degree in Accounting, Finance or a related discipline.
A professional accounting qualification such as ICAN or ACCA is required.
An MBA, CFA, or other relevant postgraduate/strategic finance qualification is an advantage.
Relevant hospitality finance or senior finance leadership experience will be a strong advantage.