Group Accounting Manager

Are you ready to take the next step in your finance leadership career as a Group Accounting Manager within a renowned international FMCG environment? At Lotus Bakeries, innovation, entrepreneurship, and passion are at the heart of everything. This opportunity offers the chance to play a key role in strengthening financial operations within a rapidly growing Belgian company known worldwide for its iconic brands and strong company culture. Based in Lembeke, this position combines strategic impact, people management, and continuous improvement in an international setting.

Your responsibilities as Group Accounting Manager :

The GL Accounting Manager will lead and strengthen the Record-to-Report (R2R) function within the Group Accounting Center. This role includes direct management of a General Ledger accounting team of 9 people, including coaching, performance management, development plans, and talent growth initiatives. This position ensures accurate, timely, and compliant financial reporting across all entities while driving standardization, automation, and operational excellence throughout the organization. Acting as a key interface between local finance teams, Group Finance, auditors, and operational stakeholders, the role contributes directly to supporting business growth and the professionalization of financial operations.

1. Leadership & People Management

• Lead, inspire, and coach the GL team within the Group Accounting Center.
• Build a high-performing and service-oriented accounting department.
• Develop talent, career growth, and succession planning initiatives.

2. Record-to-Report (R2R) Process Ownership

• Own and continuously optimize the full R2R process, including journals, accruals, provisions, depreciation, payroll postings, and consolidation inputs.
• Collaborate closely with Group Finance to standardize accounting processes, procedures, and documentation across all entities.
• Ensure compliance with closing calendars and guarantee timely delivery of deadlines.

3. General Ledger Closing & Reporting

• Manage accounting activities for smaller sales offices to gain strong understanding of processes and systems.
• Oversee monthly, quarterly, and year-end closings for all supported entities.
• Ensure compliance with IFRS and local BE GAAP requirements.
• Support tax-related requirements and reporting activities.

4. Internal Controls & Compliance

• Implement and monitor strong internal controls, approval workflows, reconciliations, and control matrices.
• Ensure permanent audit readiness.
• Coordinate external audit preparation and respond to finance and tax audit requests.

5. Process Optimization & Automation

• Identify and implement automation opportunities through SAP and RPA solutions.
• Reduce manual journal entries and improve data quality and integrity.
• Drive continuous improvement projects in close collaboration with the Project Manager within the GAC.

6. Collaboration & Stakeholder Management

• Act as the main point of contact between the Group Accounting Center, Group Finance, and local finance teams.
• Support tax, treasury, consolidation, and controlling teams with reliable financial data.
• Ensure smooth communication and excellent service delivery towards countries and business units.

About you :

• You hold a Master’s degree in Finance or Accounting.
• You bring strong people management experience and leadership capabilities.
• You demonstrate excellent communication and collaboration skills with a natural ability to influence stakeholders.
• You possess strong expertise in IFRS and Belgian GAAP.
• You have experience working with ERP systems; SAP knowledge is a strong advantage.
• You are highly proficient in Excel and KPI-driven reporting.
• You bring at least 8 to 10 years of experience within Audit (Big 4, BDO, or similar) or accounting roles in medium to large international companies.
• You are fluent in English; Dutch and French are considered strong assets.
• You recognize yourself in values such as team spirit, open dialogue, and passion.
• You are enthusiastic, eager to learn, and motivated to grow within an international environment.
• You are proactive, hands-on, and comfortable navigating a fast-changing FMCG environment.
• You are a finance professional with solid expertise in IFRS, tax, and asset accounting.

The offer :

• The opportunity to join a fast-growing and internationally recognized Belgian company within the FMCG industry.
• An attractive salary package complemented by a company car, performance-related bonus, and expense allowance.
• A comprehensive insurance package including additional employee benefits.
• Flexible working conditions with 1 day of homeworking per week.
• A dynamic, entrepreneurial, and people-oriented working environment where initiative is encouraged.
• Real career growth and development opportunities within an ambitious international group.
• A company culture built on ownership, collaboration, passion, and continuous improvement.

Joining Lotus Bakeries means becoming part of a successful international Belgian company with a strong heritage, iconic brands, and ambitious growth plans worldwide. Innovation, passion, quality, and entrepreneurship drive the company forward every day.

This is more than a finance leadership role; it’s an opportunity to contribute to the future success of a leading FMCG player while growing professionally in a collaborative and inspiring environment.

Take the next step in your career and become the next Group Accounting Manager at Lotus Bakeries.

Robert Walters Belgium is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.