Senior Accountant in Germany

Senior Accountant (m/f/d) — HGB & IFRS

Location: Frankfurt

Salary: €90,000 plus €10,000 bonus

Magpie Renewables is retained on a newly created Senior Accountant role with a fast-growing business at the centre of Europe's energy transition.

The business

Our client operates the first industrial-scale facility of its kind in Europe, producing the refined materials that feed the European battery and electric vehicle supply chain — output that until now has come almost exclusively from Asia.

Their new production plant has ramped to near full capacity, and the business is growing quickly. They are part of an international listed group, which means genuine reporting discipline: monthly and quarterly group reporting alongside German statutory deadlines.

Why the Senior Accountant role exists

Growth has outpaced the finance function. Invoice volume and complexity have risen sharply, and the team is at the point where everyone doing a bit of everything no longer works. This role brings in experienced hands to take ownership of the close, bring structure to how the work is divided, and help the function scale.

What you'll own

You'll join a team of two highly experienced senior accountants, a financial controller, three AP/AR accountants and a dedicated finance systems specialist, reporting directly to the Finance Director.

• Run the monthly and quarterly close independently and coordinate the team around it — the Finance Director reviews and signs off rather than manages the process
• Prepare reporting under IFRS as the leading standard, with German statutory accounts under HGB following the IFRS close
• Own fixed-asset accounting and capitalisation for a newly commissioned production facility
• Manage inventory valuation across significant, fast-turning stock
• Handle intercompany accounting across the group, including a South American operation
• Work with USD exposure — the IFRS functional currency converts to USD next year, while HGB reporting stays in EUR
• Support external audit and liaise with external tax advisers
• Identify and implement process improvements as the function grows

Where the Senior Accountant leads:

There is scope for this role to take functional lead of the accounting team within 6 to 12 months. It isn't a condition of the appointment, but the route is there and the client would like to appoint someone with that potential.

What you'll need:

Essential

• At least five years in financial accounting
• Strong working knowledge of both HGB and IFRS
• Experience in a larger international organisation with formal group reporting cycles — you're comfortable inside a corporate structure, not only in an owner-led Mittelstand environment
• Fluent German and confident business English, written and spoken. Both are used daily; English is not a nice-to-have
• Solid ERP experience. Theirs is Infor M3 — SAP, Oracle or another major system transfers easily
• Self-directed. You see what needs doing and do it, and bring options rather than questions when something needs escalating
• A stable career history
• Must have German Citizenship

Highly desirable:

• Bilanzbuchhalter (IHK) or a chartered accountancy qualification
• A background in professional practice (Big Four or top ten) before moving into industry
• Appetite to build German tax knowledge — external advisers are in place, and the client would welcome someone willing to develop in this area

The package:

• €90,000 base, with flexibility for an exceptional candidate
• 10% annual bonus
• 30 days' holiday
• 40-hour week, flexible hours, one home-office day per week
• Company pension (betriebliche Altersvorsorge)
• Subsidised on-site restaurant, free parking, JobRad, company mobile for private use

Magpie Renewables is committed to fair hiring. We assess every applicant against the requirements of the role and nothing else. If you need any adjustment to the process, tell us and we'll arrange it.